tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:19:18 +0000Spotsylvania Memoryhttp://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)Blogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-5198804925992116426Tue, 17 Mar 2015 20:31:00 +00002015-03-19T17:31:30.099-04:00Past Meets Present in West Chester<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ekIINC7y1Y0/VQiJme7o1CI/AAAAAAAApH0/9dmkLQuC_sA/s1600/IMG_1959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ekIINC7y1Y0/VQiJme7o1CI/AAAAAAAApH0/9dmkLQuC_sA/s1600/IMG_1959.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oakley</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Three years ago I wrote&nbsp;<a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-letter-from-maria-dobyns.html">an article describing the dramatic events</a> that occurred at Oakley, the farm of Leroy Wonderful Dobyns, during the battle of the Wilderness. Based on a letter written by Leroy's daughter, Maria, to my great grand aunt, Nannie Row, this remains one of my more popular pieces, as Maria describes in cinematic detail the level of suffering and violence experienced by one family on the the periphery of the major fighting that took place in Spotsylvania in May 1864.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of the actors in that drama was Major William B. Darlington of the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, who was shot off his horse near the Dobyns' house. Major Darlington was taken to the nearby home of William Shelton Buchanan, where his leg was amputated by Dr. Taylor,&nbsp; the surgeon of General Wade Hampton. He survived his ordeal, and after the war&nbsp; was appointed postmaster of West Chester, Pennsylvania.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Recently it was brought to my attention that Malcom Johnstone, executive director of the West Chester Business Improvement District, wrote an article on the history of the West Chester post office, in which he cited Spotsylvania Memory's article. His piece can be read <a href="http://www.downtownwestchester.com/view_program.php?id=376">here</a>.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It is always satisfying when events from the past can be utilized to amplify our understanding of the present. <br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2015/03/past-meets-present-in-west-chester.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-9037136050030381522Mon, 16 Mar 2015 12:21:00 +00002015-03-31T13:19:18.787-04:00John P. Kale<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-vQsNqF_Ko/VRrRFZPkbTI/AAAAAAAApII/gHEvc5pWT9k/s1600/img856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-vQsNqF_Ko/VRrRFZPkbTI/AAAAAAAApII/gHEvc5pWT9k/s1600/img856.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John P. Kale, about 1846 (Polk County Memorial Museum)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The story of John Kale has its beginnings in the Alps of Switzerland, where John's father, Anthony Kale, was born about 1790 in Chur, the capital of the canton Graubunden. A candy maker by trade, Anthony made his way from landlocked Switzerland to a port city in western Europe. Once there, he boarded a sailing ship and crossed the Atlantic. Whether he came alone or with relatives, at what city in America did he arrive, and exactly what year he undertook that perilous journey are questions that have remained unanswered.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; However, by some time after 1810 Anthony Kale was living in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His name first appears in the written record on April 10, 1816, when his marriage to Catherine Estes was announced in <i>The Virginia Herald</i>. Catherine Estes was one of ten children born to Richard and Catherine Carlton Estes of Greenfield, a plantation in western Spotsylvania County. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Anthony Kale owned property at 706-708 Caroline Street; those buildings survive today as the Fredericksburg Visitor Center and Beck's Antiques. At No. 706 Kale ran a confectionery and grocery, and his family lived on the floors over his store. The seven children of Catherine and Anthony were born there. The youngest of their three sons, John, arrived in 1824. (More can be read about the Kales <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/10/kales-of-fredericksburg.html">here</a>). <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNfhiA26OdA/VQavPyyfBhI/AAAAAAAApGc/9iT-_IqnFTk/s1600/tavern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oNfhiA26OdA/VQavPyyfBhI/AAAAAAAApGc/9iT-_IqnFTk/s1600/tavern.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">706-708 Caroline Street</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Little is known of John's early life, other than he apparently received a good education, given the early success he enjoyed in the newly minted Republic of Texas. In 1846, the 22-year-old John left Fredericksburg and went west.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LSic7OssNWo/VQax0eETc0I/AAAAAAAApGo/FczP0VR7UtE/s1600/img598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LSic7OssNWo/VQax0eETc0I/AAAAAAAApGo/FczP0VR7UtE/s1600/img598.jpg" height="320" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letter of John Kale, February 1847</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On February 19, 1847, John wrote a letter from Liberty, Texas to his uncle Absalom Row of Spotsylvania. He began by mentioning how much sickness there was out there, from which he was not immune: "I have not been well two weeks at a time since July last." John was teaching school then, but in the sparsely settled section northeast of modern Houston, there was not much money to be made in that profession. John made some observations on recent elections in Virginia and then indulged in a wistful look back at the life he had left behind in Virginia: "You cannot imagine what it is to me to hear from you all every one and all things about home are ten times dearer to me than they ever were before. Your fine healthy faces would be a show in this part of the world, and little George I no doubt remembers how the squirrel's tail was played about his nose." The little George he referred to was my great grandfather, George Washington Estes Row.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dZugpR4Ztvk/VQa1TDMgH8I/AAAAAAAApG0/s5YDbSZaWfY/s1600/gwe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dZugpR4Ztvk/VQa1TDMgH8I/AAAAAAAApG0/s5YDbSZaWfY/s1600/gwe.jpg" height="320" width="163" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Washington Estes Row (1843-1883)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By 1850, John Kale was living in the tiny town of Livingston, Polk County, where he was clerk of court. He was one of the earliest American settlers in that area and over the years enjoyed success as clerk, town merchant and farmer.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John married Mary Winifred Hicks in Polk County on August 10, 1852. Their marriage was short-lived and tragic. Their first child, a daughter, died at birth in 1853. Their son suffered the same fate in 1854. Mary Kale died two weeks after the death of her son on September 6. All three are buried near her parents in the Abell Cemetery in Liberty, Texas.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By 1860, with an aggregate wealth of $56,000, John Kale was one of the wealthiest men in Polk County. But that statistic does not tell the whole story. After the death of his wife and children, John was in a mental where he could not be left alone. He moved to Denton, Texas to stay for a time with his brother, Richard. For the 1860 census taken in Polk County, his occupation is given as "undefinable," because he was living in Denton at the time.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John enlisted as a private in Company K of the 5th Texas Infantry on August 24, 1861. Now 37 years old, he was considered an old man by some of his fellow recruits. The 5th Infantry was part of the famed Texas Brigade, commanded by General John Bell Hood. Within two months of his enlistment, the&nbsp; 5th Texas was transported to Virginia, where it encamped on Neabsco Creek near Dumfries. Here, the older and more experienced John worked as a nurse in the General Hospital.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John fought with his regiment during the Seven Days Battles near Richmond in 1862. The Texas Brigade, along with Longstreet's Corps, then marched west toward Culpeper in order to link up with Stonewall Jackson's troops and confront the army of General John Pope.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On August 26, 1862, John Kale was put on picket duty, along with future Texas judge John W. Stevens and Nathan Oates. This episode was recounted in a book written by Judge Stevens 40 years later: <i>Reminiscences of the Civil War</i>, Hillsboro Mirror Print: Hillsboro, Texas, 1902, 51-52:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Kale was about 45 years old [actually, he was just 38] and a little hard of hearing, we three were carried down by an officer and posted in thirty or forty steps of the enemy's line, in high corn. The mud was awful, the air was quite cool after nightfall...Our orders were if the enemy attempted to advance, to wait until they were in twenty feet, then fire into them and fall back, we were not to speak above a whisper. We were so close to the enemy that we could hear their feet pop in the mud as they moved around in line. We could hear, all night, the low rumbling sound of their voices in suppressed tones as they conversed.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Kale, poor fellow, could not hear as well as myself and Nath, which was a great discomfort to him, and us as well. The slight breeze that came through the corn, sawing the blades against one another, made a noise very much like a man slipping up on us. Kale, every few minutes would insist that the rascals--as he called them--were coming and at times we could hardly restrain him from raising his gun to fire."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Four days later, John Kale was shot during the battle of Second Manassas. He was taken to the Receiving and Wayside Hospital (General Hospital No. 9) in Richmond, where he remained for two months. He was then transferred to Hospital No. 21. From there he was transferred to "private quarters October 29, 1862, having furnished a substitute."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not much else is known of John Kale's activities during the Civil War. In <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/12/hirelings-of-best-government-in-world.html">a letter written by his sister Kate</a> in July 1864, we learn that John and his brother Richard (who had begun the war as a trooper with the 15th Texas Cavalry) were "now in the same company. John is in the commissary department. He says the State [Texas] is full of refugees and everything is high. Sugar is not to be had at any price."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The war now over, John returned to Polk County. Although his wealth was now less than half of what it had been before the war, he was still better off than most of his neighbors. He opened a dry goods store in Livingston. On March 21, 1867 he married a 30 year old widowed school teacher, Isabelle Wallace Sharp.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Isabelle, or "Belle" as everyone knew her, had been the second wife of John F. Sharp, who had died during the war. Belle was raising John Sharp's son by his first marriage, John, Jr. Belle came from a distinguished Delaware family. Her grandfather, Caesar Augustus Rodney, had served in the House of Representatives and had been Attorney General of the United States.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John and Belle had four children together. The first, Iola Rodney, died in 1871 at age three. Annie Rose was born about 1869, Louise "Lutie" was born in 1870 and Katherine "Kate" Carlton (named for her grandmother) in 1872. On May 15, 1873, Belle Kale died while giving birth to her fifth child, who also died.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nAnirilesu8/VQbALW-fReI/AAAAAAAApHE/4HWiv-rc09U/s1600/Anna%2BRose%2BWallace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nAnirilesu8/VQbALW-fReI/AAAAAAAApHE/4HWiv-rc09U/s1600/Anna%2BRose%2BWallace.jpg" height="320" width="193" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna Rose Wallace Vaughan (courtesy of Felicia Gourdin)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After Belle died, John Kale made the decision to send his three surviving daughters to live with Belle's sister, Anna Rose Wallace Vaughan, in Yalobusha, Mississippi. Anna Vaughan, a widow with four daughters of her own, taught school there.&nbsp; In the photograph below, Anna is seen with her daughters and the younger Kale girls who are identified by the numbers: 1-Lutie, 2-Kate, 3-Annie Rose.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJxEPNn1zbs/VQbEr0uxDNI/AAAAAAAApHQ/fFfUw0bY8jA/s1600/Scan%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJxEPNn1zbs/VQbEr0uxDNI/AAAAAAAApHQ/fFfUw0bY8jA/s1600/Scan%2B2.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Polk County Memorial Museum</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1880, John Kale was living alone and farming. For a man who had been twice married and the father of eight children, it must have been lonely. He was still close to his adopted son, John F. Sharp, Jr., who acted as guardian for the daughters of John Kale after his death on February 14, 1886 at the age of 62.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As John Kales' daughters became old enough, they were enrolled in the Ward Seminary for Young Ladies (modern Ward-Belmont College) in Nashville, Tennessee. There, on Christmas Eve 1887, Annie Rose Kale was killed in a dormitory fire.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDW6vi2i3p4/VQbGP4QGD5I/AAAAAAAApHc/_PwpK4b6qs8/s1600/kate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDW6vi2i3p4/VQbGP4QGD5I/AAAAAAAApHc/_PwpK4b6qs8/s1600/kate.jpg" height="320" width="159" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate Kale (Courtesy of Polk County Memorial Museum)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kate Kale married Kentucky banking executive James Florian Cox in 1892. They never had children. In 1910 James left Kate for the much younger Virginia Lee Harris of New Orleans.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GMDYe2yuzxg/VQbGwb-TntI/AAAAAAAApHk/hNOOZkkVeY4/s1600/DS%2B28Feb1894.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GMDYe2yuzxg/VQbGwb-TntI/AAAAAAAApHk/hNOOZkkVeY4/s1600/DS%2B28Feb1894.png" height="139" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Daily Star </i>28 February 1894</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lutie Kale married lumber wholesaler Edward Lewis Edwards in 1894. Their wedding announcement made the social page of the Fredericksburg papers. She and Edward settled in Dayton, Ohio and had one daughter. After her divorce, Kate moved to Dayton to be near her sister. Lutie died in 1922, Kate in 1926. They are buried at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2015/03/john-p-kale.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-2774017160775065253Thu, 26 Feb 2015 16:51:00 +00002015-02-26T12:43:00.069-05:00Annette Houston Harlow<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zl3bZJuNQZA/VO9Eeo_xafI/AAAAAAAAou0/-bjBC3N3SBk/s1600/Annette-Willson-Houston-Harlow-and-Finley-Houston-Harlow_color4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zl3bZJuNQZA/VO9Eeo_xafI/AAAAAAAAou0/-bjBC3N3SBk/s1600/Annette-Willson-Houston-Harlow-and-Finley-Houston-Harlow_color4.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annette Houston Harlow with her son, Finley</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Today I am showcasing the colorization talent of graphic artist and friend of Spotsylvania Memory, Deborah Humphries. Beginning with the original image shown below (provided by Elizabeth Robinson), Deborah was able to bring to life my cousin Annette and her young son, Finley Houston Harlow, in late 1913 or early 1914.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oUhkaqefz9A/VO9GH5EQ8NI/AAAAAAAAovA/s2wkiuN6GKs/s1600/Annette-Willson-Houston-Harlow-and-Finley-Houston-Harlow_clean-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oUhkaqefz9A/VO9GH5EQ8NI/AAAAAAAAovA/s2wkiuN6GKs/s1600/Annette-Willson-Houston-Harlow-and-Finley-Houston-Harlow_clean-up.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Annette Willson Houston (1878-1960) was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, the daughter of Finley and Grace Alexander Houston. Finley Houston, one of the leading citizens of Lexington in his day, has been the topic of a previous post, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/08/finley-houston.html">which can be read here</a>.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In September 1905, Annette married Washington &amp; Lee graduate, Benjamin Franklin Harlow, Jr. (1873-1961). Ben Harlow's father was an attorney, Civil War veteran and publisher of the <i>Greenbrier Independent</i> in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Ben and Annette were married at 'Clifton,' her family's home near Lexington, Virginia. In the family portrait taken on the day of their wedding, Ben and Annette are standing at far right, their eyes turned to the camera lens. Her parents are seated, her sister Mary stands at center, and sister Bruce and her husband William Emrys Davis stand at left:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aG6hU0C5Fgs/VO9KMQFT68I/AAAAAAAAovQ/hKT5mnb2TIg/s1600/img929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aG6hU0C5Fgs/VO9KMQFT68I/AAAAAAAAovQ/hKT5mnb2TIg/s1600/img929.jpg" height="250" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After they were married, Annette and Ben moved to Roswell, New Mexico, where Ben worked in the printing business until early 1917. Ben also taught Latin at the New Mexico Military Academy, whose superintendent was Annette's cousin, James William Willson.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Once the Harlows came back to Lexington, Virginia, Ben became the publisher of the <i>Lexington Gazette.</i> After his retirement, he was succeeded by his son Finley, who held that position until his death in 1972.http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2015/02/annette-houston-harlow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-8884011614960459858Tue, 10 Feb 2015 22:59:00 +00002015-02-10T17:59:30.163-05:00Slaves at the Museum<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5lLfufF7Os/VNqICGF-itI/AAAAAAAAouE/WMydQ6hZw4o/s1600/IMG_2362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D5lLfufF7Os/VNqICGF-itI/AAAAAAAAouE/WMydQ6hZw4o/s1600/IMG_2362.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Display at the Chancellorsville Museum, National Park Service</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last week, while in Virginia doing some research and making headway on my upcoming book, I finally had the opportunity to visit the Park Service's&nbsp; recently updated contact station at Chancellorsville. I was interested in seeing several of their exhibits, including this one. Please click on the images in my blog for enlarged viewing.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This particular exhibit speaks to the exodus of slaves from the Spotsylvania region while Union troops were nearby. Among those enslaved people who escaped to freedom were a number from Greenfield plantation in western Spotsylvania. Their flight to freedom in 1862 was documented by my great great grandmother, Nancy Estes Row, in this list of runaways written in her own hand:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nMy51q3ouzs/VNqK6UUvrZI/AAAAAAAAouQ/8DE1flJCR2E/s1600/IMG_2366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nMy51q3ouzs/VNqK6UUvrZI/AAAAAAAAouQ/8DE1flJCR2E/s1600/IMG_2366.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">List of runaway slaves from Greenfield</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; My great great grandmother had the foresight to include the last names of those "servants," which made it possible to discover the fates of three of these people, whose story appears <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/12/this-day-ran-away-from-my-premises.html">here</a>. The story of another Greenfield slave, Ellen Upshur, who had been given as a present to a relative in 1857, can be read <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-brief-story-of-ellen.html">here</a>.http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2015/02/slaves-at-museum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-8702536355680243423Thu, 04 Dec 2014 18:37:00 +00002014-12-06T10:40:18.435-05:00Dr. John Duerson Pulliam<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G3osZTnDr-A/VICTnTJjccI/AAAAAAAAopA/gofdATm-hE4/s1600/withlucy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G3osZTnDr-A/VICTnTJjccI/AAAAAAAAopA/gofdATm-hE4/s1600/withlucy.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newlyweds: John and Lucy Pulliam, 1861 (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Every so often I am privileged to come across a collection of photographs relating to one of Spotsylvania's historic families. Such a stroke of good fortune occurred earlier this year when Pulliam family researcher Craig Harnden began to post these photographs to his family tree on Ancestry. With Craig's kind permission, I am able to share with you today this very rare look at the Pulliam family. Pictures from Craig Harnden's archive that appear in today's post are designated with '(CH)'. All images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RzSVpllzIj4/VICVSCma9KI/AAAAAAAAopM/gz08rijyKic/s1600/Page%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RzSVpllzIj4/VICVSCma9KI/AAAAAAAAopM/gz08rijyKic/s1600/Page%2B2.jpg" height="320" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Spotsylvania County, 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Named for his grandfather, John Duerson Pulliam was born in Spotsylvania on 3 November 1840 to Richard H. Pulliam and Rebecca Duerson. The Pulliam farm can be seen in the lower left portion of the map detail shown above. Richard Pulliam's sister Eliza's farm lay just to the north. To the northeast was Greenfield ("Mrs. Rowe"), my family's ancestral home.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John D. Pulliam graduated from the University of Virginia in 1859. Like many young men in Virginia of that time who wished to practice medicine, he then attended the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He graduated in 1861, having written his thesis on the topic of digestion.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The year 1861 would prove to be the most significant in the life of young Dr. Pulliam for two other reasons as well. On 15 July he enlisted in Company E of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry, my great grandfather's old regiment. Also serving with John were his brother Thomas Coleman Pulliam and his cousin Thomas Richard Pulliam, whose self-indulgent life and violent death have recently been featured in this blog. <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-world-according-to-phenie-tapp.html">Click here</a> to read what has become the most popular article ever published on Spotsylvania Memory.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2xpDyW-DwoM/VICYLyPHCvI/AAAAAAAAopY/9GdTBSuY_Oo/s1600/lucyage17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2xpDyW-DwoM/VICYLyPHCvI/AAAAAAAAopY/9GdTBSuY_Oo/s1600/lucyage17.jpg" height="320" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy Noel Jerrell, age 17 (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The most momentous event in the life of John Pulliam in 1861 was his marriage to eighteen year old Lucy Noel Jerrell on 4 December. Lucy was born in July 1843 to John C. Jerrell and Mary Cropp. The Jerrells lived southeast of Spotsylvania Court House, where her father operated a grist mill and ran a store.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dr. John Pulliam survived his year in the Confederate cavalry, managing to avoid injury, sickness or capture. He returned home to Spotsylvania, where he began his fifty year medical practice. Unfortunately for John and everyone he knew, the Civil War that they had so avidly wished for would soon be on their very doorsteps.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkJPFRqh2vg/VICZ0jrY24I/AAAAAAAAopk/d6iaUIkRtso/s1600/johncjerrell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkJPFRqh2vg/VICZ0jrY24I/AAAAAAAAopk/d6iaUIkRtso/s1600/johncjerrell.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John C. Jerrell (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Among the first to suffer were John Jerrell and his second wife, Ann Marshall. On 5 November 1862 their home, mill and store house were ransacked by Federal troops. In the Confederate archives is the long list of the Jerrells' property that was stolen or destroyed that day by Union soldiers who "laid violent hands on his goods and wares." Among other things, the Jerrells lost ten slaves, a double barreled shotgun, 100 pounds of coffee, and 110 pounds of nails; English, French, Latin, Greek, law and medical books; percussion caps, quinine and other medicines. Without a doubt the most intriguing object stolen that day was a set of obstetrical instruments. As if that were not enough, the Jerrells suffered further indignity that winter when Confederate troops camping on their property burned 1,900 fence rails for fuel.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A year and a half later John and Lucy Pulliam would have their own violent encounter with Union troops swarming through their neighborhood during the battle of the Wilderness. The experience of the Pulliams was included in <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-letter-from-maria-dobyns.html">the historic letter written by Maria Dobyns</a> of neighboring Oakley plantation: <i>The yankees even tore off the plaster off Dr. Pulliam's cellar, thinking something had been hid, took money off his and Lucie's clothes, together with everything else.</i><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OVSrTlXemuY/VICc6OnHg6I/AAAAAAAAopw/BPyP-oxr6ek/s1600/family1876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OVSrTlXemuY/VICc6OnHg6I/AAAAAAAAopw/BPyP-oxr6ek/s1600/family1876.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pulliam family, 1876 (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; </i>This family portrait made in 1876 shows John and Lucy Pulliam with their five oldest children (Ivy would arrive in&nbsp;<i> </i>1877 and the youngest, Flavia, was born in 1883). The oldest daughter, Mary Etta, is at far left. She married John F. Lewis in 1880 and had three children with him before dying in 1886 at the age of 23. Standing at John's shoulder is Justinian, who also practiced medicine until his untimely death in 1891. Standing between her parents is Lucy Noel Pulliam, who married Dr. Charles Dudley Simmons. In John's lap is Alma, who married Dr. Frank P. Dickinson, whose family owned "Mercer Hall" in Spotsylvania. Warner moved to Augusta County where he lived near his sisters Ivy and Flavia for a time before dying during the influenza epidemic in 1918.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Other photos from the Pulliam album:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-guVnuRpx6Zw/VICf_aMqKrI/AAAAAAAAop8/l4l0IE9wht8/s1600/justinian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-guVnuRpx6Zw/VICf_aMqKrI/AAAAAAAAop8/l4l0IE9wht8/s1600/justinian.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Justinian Pulliam (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vUuY4x16Yg/VICgGr1EcmI/AAAAAAAAoqE/r4ltV5DBN38/s1600/Alma%2BPulliam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vUuY4x16Yg/VICgGr1EcmI/AAAAAAAAoqE/r4ltV5DBN38/s1600/Alma%2BPulliam.jpg" height="320" width="296" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alma Pulliam (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uT_lCvDUuiQ/VICgWZQx94I/AAAAAAAAoqM/Ux1wqkYPYFQ/s1600/Flavia%2BPulliam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uT_lCvDUuiQ/VICgWZQx94I/AAAAAAAAoqM/Ux1wqkYPYFQ/s1600/Flavia%2BPulliam.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flavia Pulliam (CH)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0R0PxDz0n8Y/VICgh7R8d3I/AAAAAAAAoqU/1N6G3Ta_9So/s1600/Ivy%2BPulliam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0R0PxDz0n8Y/VICgh7R8d3I/AAAAAAAAoqU/1N6G3Ta_9So/s1600/Ivy%2BPulliam.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivy Pulliam&nbsp; (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As a physician, John Pulliam touched the lives of many during his long career, including my own family.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJQFVkA9ZYM/VIChGCm3QXI/AAAAAAAAoqc/ybHGIUKWUaM/s1600/nanmed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJQFVkA9ZYM/VIChGCm3QXI/AAAAAAAAoqc/ybHGIUKWUaM/s1600/nanmed.jpg" height="173" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Estate expenses of Nancy Estes Row</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dr. Pulliam treated my great great grandmother, Nancy Estes Row, during her final illness in January 1873. The Rows were able to recoup some of his $12.50 fee when he bought several items at her estate sale.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FgnuXeULXCw/VIChusHzQTI/AAAAAAAAoqk/4IADEZY03U0/s1600/6%2Bmay%2B1865%2Bconserv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FgnuXeULXCw/VIChusHzQTI/AAAAAAAAoqk/4IADEZY03U0/s1600/6%2Bmay%2B1865%2Bconserv.jpg" height="320" width="111" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Virginia Herald </i>6 May 1875</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By the 1870s John had begun to dip his toe into local politics. In 1875 he was elected as a delegate from the Livingston district for the Conservative Party's convention. Also elected from the Livingston district was Dr. Thomas W. Finney, who had served with John in the Ninth Cavalry. In 1860, while still a medical student, Finney lived with John Pulliam's family. Years later both doctors would be lauded for their heroic efforts during an epidemic in Spotsylvania:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Ngm36EdYj8/VICioHSA5II/AAAAAAAAoqw/NO2a3UYbP2Y/s1600/FL15jul87.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Ngm36EdYj8/VICioHSA5II/AAAAAAAAoqw/NO2a3UYbP2Y/s1600/FL15jul87.png" height="320" width="169" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Free Lance </i>15 July 1887</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John Pulliam was elected a justice of the peace and served on the Spotsylvania&nbsp; Board of Health 1909-1912. In 1910 he was elected president of the Spotsylvania chapter of the Farmer's Alliance. The only setback I have spotted in his multifaceted career occurred in 1884, when his nomination as superintendent of Spotsylvania County schools was rejected by the Virginia Senate.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9OVf4mhgwhw/VICjx6llHXI/AAAAAAAAoq4/qMwtqVIkl4Q/s1600/courthouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9OVf4mhgwhw/VICjx6llHXI/AAAAAAAAoq4/qMwtqVIkl4Q/s1600/courthouse.jpg" height="273" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotsylvania Court House, about 1900</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the photograph above, Dr. John D. Pulliam is sitting with the political elite of Spotsylvania County. He is seated front and center, fourth from the right. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z0-KK_v91ts/VICkR0ipR9I/AAAAAAAAorA/Sgt-_CvFuRs/s1600/oldmoustache.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z0-KK_v91ts/VICkR0ipR9I/AAAAAAAAorA/Sgt-_CvFuRs/s1600/oldmoustache.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. John Duerson Pulliam (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For many years John and Lucy Pulliam lived on a 160 acre farm near Peake's Crossroads, later known as Belmont. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kTVC6qIIl2w/VICkyoayhmI/AAAAAAAAorI/6SVxevaBWVc/s1600/lucyolder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kTVC6qIIl2w/VICkyoayhmI/AAAAAAAAorI/6SVxevaBWVc/s1600/lucyolder.jpg" height="320" width="232" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucy Pulliam (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uIDqLKyCq0k/VICk6WIOuWI/AAAAAAAAorQ/yFcehe76Uok/s1600/ds29may1905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uIDqLKyCq0k/VICk6WIOuWI/AAAAAAAAorQ/yFcehe76Uok/s1600/ds29may1905.jpg" height="320" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Daily Star </i>29 May 1905</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lucy Pulliam died of a stroke while entertaining friends at her home in 1905. John continued to live in their old home for a time, but sold it for $4,200 in 1909. He then moved in with his nephew Richard Graves and his family.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5IJ1QfAatRk/VIClvH-xmMI/AAAAAAAAorY/dLdxZVF9zCE/s1600/onhorseage66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5IJ1QfAatRk/VIClvH-xmMI/AAAAAAAAorY/dLdxZVF9zCE/s1600/onhorseage66.jpg" height="244" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Pulliam at White Hall, 1906 (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By about 1912 Dr. Pulliam had mostly retired from medicine, although he still would treat special cases. The last of these occurred in January 1914 when he traveled to Richmond to attend a sick nephew. While there he contracted a bad cold, which developed into pneumonia. He died on 15 January 1914.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Yj-GZpifxE/VICm9mY_55I/AAAAAAAAorg/JNimz5AsHPM/s1600/oldwithbeard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2Yj-GZpifxE/VICm9mY_55I/AAAAAAAAorg/JNimz5AsHPM/s1600/oldwithbeard.jpg" height="320" width="289" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Pulliam (CH)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hGAoojk92PY/VICnMhwMnbI/AAAAAAAAoro/k1ZcwJRlPXs/s1600/obit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hGAoojk92PY/VICnMhwMnbI/AAAAAAAAoro/k1ZcwJRlPXs/s1600/obit.jpg" height="75" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rnxhUtv8SN8/VICni0avJII/AAAAAAAAorw/nRU-SF98W5g/s1600/obit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rnxhUtv8SN8/VICni0avJII/AAAAAAAAorw/nRU-SF98W5g/s1600/obit2.jpg" height="320" width="289" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Richmond Times Dispatch </i>17 January 1914</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John, Lucy, Mary Etta, Warner and Justinian Pulliam are buried at Mount Hermon Baptist Church in Spotsylvania.</div><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/12/dr-john-duerson-pulliam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-7304993723682486753Fri, 28 Nov 2014 23:06:00 +00002014-11-29T14:48:42.200-05:00Little Orphan Annie<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OeyQONfVBwE/VHj4eF1fFSI/AAAAAAAAooQ/y2r6i0lDT1M/s1600/img852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OeyQONfVBwE/VHj4eF1fFSI/AAAAAAAAooQ/y2r6i0lDT1M/s1600/img852.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frances Kent. Richmond, early 1900s</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Despite the fact that she had only a grade school education acquired in Spotsylvania in the early 1890s, my grandmother had&nbsp; a life long love of history, literature and poetry that transcended her modest upbringing. Even into old age she enjoyed reading such heavy tomes as Winston Churchill's <i>History of the English Speaking Peoples. </i>I remember her ability to quote reams of poetry she learned by heart as a young girl, and as a lad I would sit by her rocking chair, transfixed by her ability to still recall without difficulty the poems she had learned seventy years earlier.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One of the poems she used to recite (and also my mother, who had learned it from my grandmother, complete with her inflections and dramatic phrasing) was <i>Little Orphan Annie</i>, written by James Whitcomb Riley in 1885. The Annie of whom Riley wrote was a real child, Mary Alice Smith, who lived in the Riley household.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For my modern readers, who will not be able to appreciate the terrifying effect the recitation of this poem by my grandmother and mother had on me at a very tender age, I present this poetic artifact from a bygone era. Read it alone in a dark room by candle light. If you dare.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Little Orphan Annie</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Little Orphan Annie's come to our house to stay,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To wash the cups and saucers up, and brush the crumbs away.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Shoo the chickens off the porch, brush the hearth and sweep,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Make the fire, bake the bread, and earn her board and keep.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And when the day is over, and all the things are done,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We'd sit around the kitchen fire, and have the mostest fun!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A-listening to the witch-tales, that Annie tells about.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And the goblins will get you, if you don't watch out!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And when he went to bed one night a way upstairs;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">His mama heard him holler, and his daddy heard him bawl,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And when they turned the covers down, he wasn't there at all!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They searched him in the rafters, and in the closet press,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They searched him in the chimney flue, and everywhere I guess,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But all they ever found of him was his pants and roundabout.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And the goblins will get you, if you don't watch out!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once there was a little girl, who'd always laugh and grin,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And make fun of everyone, all her blood and kin.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once when there was company, and old folks were there,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">She mocked them, and shocked them, and said she didn't care!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And just when she was about to turn, and run and hide,&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There was two great, big black things, standing by her side!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They snatched her through the ceiling, 'fore she knowed what she's about.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And the goblins will get you, if you don't watch out!</div>http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/11/little-orphan-annie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-5951480312172916540Mon, 24 Nov 2014 19:14:00 +00002014-12-04T02:17:38.860-05:00Death on the Virginia Central<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7w61E9td524/VHNe4OVgg_I/AAAAAAAAolg/8ICsR7o8B1s/s1600/Williamson%2BRailroad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7w61E9td524/VHNe4OVgg_I/AAAAAAAAolg/8ICsR7o8B1s/s1600/Williamson%2BRailroad.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Section hands of the PF&amp;P Railroad (DC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For sixty one years the train used to make daily runs between Fredericksburg and Orange Court House. Near the end of the checkered history of this now long abandoned railway there occurred a devastating accident in Spotsylvania which made the front page of the Free Lance Star eighty six years ago. Thanks to Dena Cooper, fellow researcher and a friend of Spotsylvania Memory, this dimly remembered tragedy can now be shared with a modern audience. Photographs from her family's collection which appear in today's post are designated '(DC)'. All images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GTjA49vu_0A/VHNgxSefUWI/AAAAAAAAols/8zNVdY4ixiw/s1600/Northern_Virginia_Map_-_Potomac%2C_Fredericksburg%2C_%26_Piedmont_Railroad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GTjA49vu_0A/VHNgxSefUWI/AAAAAAAAols/8zNVdY4ixiw/s1600/Northern_Virginia_Map_-_Potomac%2C_Fredericksburg%2C_%26_Piedmont_Railroad.jpg" height="153" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Route of the PF&amp;P Railroad, 1894 (Wikipedia)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1852 the city fathers of Fredericksburg, fearing the cumulative financial impact of the failure of the Rappahannock Canal and the sad state of the Orange Turnpike and Plank Road, hatched a plan to construct a railroad linking Fredericksburg with Gordonsville. The following year the Fredericksburg &amp; Gordonsville Railroad Company was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly and surveyors were at work by fall of 1853.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V3uWQMBKiNk/VHNiTOD5gmI/AAAAAAAAol4/ynkA8YwUvpE/s1600/bond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V3uWQMBKiNk/VHNiTOD5gmI/AAAAAAAAol4/ynkA8YwUvpE/s1600/bond.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold bond of the FO&amp;C Railroad (Scripophily.net)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Soon thereafter this ambitious plan was scaled back to a thirty eight mile track that would extend from Fredericksburg to Orange Court House. By 1861 much of the grading work to Parker's store in western Spotsylvania was complete. But the Civil War obliged the Fredericksburg &amp; Gordonsville Railroad to stop work. On Civil War era maps, and in the memories of soldiers who fought at the battles of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness, this nascent rail bed would be forever known as "the unfinished railroad."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In June 1866 civil engineer Carter Moore Braxton, who had been an officer in the Fredericksburg artillery and husband of famed diarist Fannie Page Hume, was elected president of the F&amp;G Railroad. Fifteen miles of standard gauge track had been laid by 1872, but the F&amp;G went bankrupt. A new company, the Fredericksburg, Orange &amp; Charlottesville Railroad, was formed to complete the project. They sold bonds, like the one shown above, in an attempt to raise sufficient capital to see the job through.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Despite the inauspicious beginnings of this still unfinished railroad, its construction was a boon to the local economy. Building the road provided employment to a small army of surveyors, engineers and laborers. The manufacture of the rails, ties, fencing stock and bridge material also kept local foundries and saw mills humming. One beneficiary of this railroad boomlet was my great grandfather, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-saw-mills-of-george-we-row.html">George Washington Estes Row</a>. Another group profiting from all this activity were local attorneys, as lawsuits relating to ongoing financial difficulties filled the docket of the Circuit Court.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1WCTSH7rW9E/VHNoYdvdcoI/AAAAAAAAomQ/2ceUMN_qL8c/s1600/Image%2B(240).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1WCTSH7rW9E/VHNoYdvdcoI/AAAAAAAAomQ/2ceUMN_qL8c/s1600/Image%2B(240).jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chugging past T.S. Jones's store near Mine Run, Orange County</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Inevitably, the Fredericksburg, Orange and Charlottesville Railroad went bankrupt in 1876. The company's charter was returned to the original incorporators, the F&amp;G Railroad. The directors immediately transferred title to the Royal Land Development Company, which changed the standard gauge (4' 8" between rails) to narrow gauge (3' between rails) to save on construction costs. Royal purchased two engines, four flat cars, four box cars and two passenger cars from the Centennial Fairgrounds in Philadelphia. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NjcWQz0AIrI/VHNqbVpeAmI/AAAAAAAAomc/pFRVAhA8prQ/s1600/1883%2Breceipt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NjcWQz0AIrI/VHNqbVpeAmI/AAAAAAAAomc/pFRVAhA8prQ/s1600/1883%2Breceipt.jpg" height="138" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freight receipt of the PF&amp;P Railroad, 1883</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That same year the company was renamed the Potomac, Fredericksburg &amp; Piedmont Railroad and would be known by that name for more than fifty years. The first trip on the newly completed road was made from Fredericksburg to Orange Court House on 26 February 1877. A mere twenty five years had elapsed from conception to completion.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Soon the PF&amp;P railroad would be wryly referred to as the "Poor Folks &amp; Preachers Railroad," reflecting both its clientele and its hand-to-mouth existence. There is the apocryphal story of a fellow who wished to get to Orange one day. Exasperated by a long and futile wait for the train to show up, he set off on foot, following the track to his intended destination. At long last the train slowly crept up behind him. As it slowly passed by, the engineer asked him if he wished to get on. "No thanks," he replied. "I'm in a hurry."<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hPlu5HciPKs/VHNtMrA16OI/AAAAAAAAomo/nRfoYsCQU_0/s1600/Agnes%2BScott%2B%2727%2BCommencement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hPlu5HciPKs/VHNtMrA16OI/AAAAAAAAomo/nRfoYsCQU_0/s1600/Agnes%2BScott%2B'27%2BCommencement.jpg" height="320" width="158" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PF&amp;P ticket, 1927</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The railroad always struggled financially and in 1925 the company decided to abandon the road. A small group of investors bought it and changed the name to the Orange &amp; Fredericksburg Railway. They, too, soon went under and a year later the company was reorganized as the Virginia Central Railway. The increasing popularity of the automobile and the wasting effects of the Great Depression proved to be too much, however, and the railroad permanently ceased operating in 1938.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qb0KicAgHvQ/VHNwGiIfkuI/AAAAAAAAom0/sjmLXcZdvPI/s1600/Willie%2BA%2BWilliamson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qb0KicAgHvQ/VHNwGiIfkuI/AAAAAAAAom0/sjmLXcZdvPI/s1600/Willie%2BA%2BWilliamson.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Andrew Williamson (DC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mjc8SpZQeVU/VHNwUR_T7_I/AAAAAAAAom8/wo3evWaI1Fg/s1600/24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mjc8SpZQeVU/VHNwUR_T7_I/AAAAAAAAom8/wo3evWaI1Fg/s1600/24.jpg" height="320" width="185" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William A. Williamson, wearing a straw boater, far left</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William Andrew "Willie" Williamson and his brothers worked for the railroad. Three of them can be seen in the photograph at the top of today's post. Standing on the front of the engine, center, is Stephen Davis Williamson (1886-1965). Standing on the engine at far right is Reuben Franklin Williamson (b. 1885). And standing by the track at far right is Hugh Meredith Williamson (b. 1882).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rn9sBT3XMQ/VHNxow87gkI/AAAAAAAAonE/sbwhf0K4cMU/s1600/charles%26lucy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rn9sBT3XMQ/VHNxow87gkI/AAAAAAAAonE/sbwhf0K4cMU/s1600/charles%26lucy.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles and Lucy Williamson (DC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Willie Williamson (born in Spotsylvania on 25 May 1881) and his brothers and sister were the children of Charles Allen Williamson and Lucy Jane Parker. Charles was born in Prince Edward County in 1851 and spent his early years in Manchester. In September 1878 he married Lucy Parker of Spotsylvania, a daughter of John Franklin Parker and Annie Haney, who owned the general store and post office on Brock Road known as Brockville, a stop on the PF&amp;P Railroad. Annie Parker ran the post office for years.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhq_-jlEx6Q/VHNz3FZT6eI/AAAAAAAAonQ/dZUmq7OwA4s/s1600/img843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhq_-jlEx6Q/VHNz3FZT6eI/AAAAAAAAonQ/dZUmq7OwA4s/s1600/img843.jpg" height="177" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Registry receipt written at Brockville, 1885</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Frank and Annie's daughter in law, Wilhelmina Hirth Parker, succeeded Annie as postmistress there and held that job until 1942. Wilhelmina's son Grafton Parker was postmaster until 1956.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OtHxkqsKlg/VHN0mlT39bI/AAAAAAAAonY/hhc6MWZODPU/s1600/Mary%2BWallace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4OtHxkqsKlg/VHN0mlT39bI/AAAAAAAAonY/hhc6MWZODPU/s1600/Mary%2BWallace.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Wallace (DC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Willie Williamson married seventeen year old Mary Elizabeth Wallace in May 1914. Mary was the oldest daughter of Spotsylvania farmer Festus Wallace and his wife Margaret Jane Owens. Mary's sisters married two of Willie's brothers. Leah married Samuel Estes Williamson and Mattie Merle married Stephen Davis Williamson. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1SgGg4chU04/VHN1bSabwrI/AAAAAAAAonk/B57-0UyY5lE/s1600/Festus%2Band%2BMaggie%2BWallace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1SgGg4chU04/VHN1bSabwrI/AAAAAAAAonk/B57-0UyY5lE/s1600/Festus%2Band%2BMaggie%2BWallace.jpg" height="320" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Festus and Margaret Wallace (DC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Willie and his brothers were hard working men. In addition to working on the family farm near Brockville, they also worked for the railroad. By 1910 Willie, Stephen, Samuel &amp; Hugh were working as car loaders for the PF&amp;P. During the 1920s all of the Williamson brothers worked as section hands on the railroad. Their draft registration forms submitted in 1917 give some indication of the physical stresses and dangers of their work. Reuben reported a broken hand and breastbone; Sam had an afflicted arm and shoulder; Willie said he had a weak constitution; and Hugh suffered from rheumatism attacks. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just how dangerous work on the railroad could be was demonstrated on the morning of 20 April 1928. With sudden violence the life of Willie Williamson came to an abrupt end and five others, including his brother Stephen, sustained severe and even life threatening injuries. This sad incident was the lead story in that afternoon's edition of the <i>Free Lance Star.</i><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2lUrv9AH-3s/VHN3eElIRmI/AAAAAAAAonw/UcXlbgLREPw/s1600/Free%2BLance%2BStar%2BApril%2B20%2C%2B1928%2BTrain%2BCrash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2lUrv9AH-3s/VHN3eElIRmI/AAAAAAAAonw/UcXlbgLREPw/s1600/Free%2BLance%2BStar%2BApril%2B20%2C%2B1928%2BTrain%2BCrash.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Free Lance Star</i>, 20 April 1928 (DC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>ONE DEAD, 5 HURT IN RAIL ACCIDENT</b><br /><br /><b>William Williamson Dies in Crash of Motor Cars on Virginia Central. Another unconscious.</b><br /><br /><b>OTHERS IN HOSPITAL</b><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; One man was killed and five injured in varying degrees, one perhaps fatally, when a motor car on the Virginia Central railroad crashed into the lever-car preceeding it when the latter jumped the tracks fifteen miles west of Fredericksburg this morning shortly after 8 o'clock.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William Williamson, 40 years old, of Brock Road, was killed outright in the accident. Moses Jones, of Chancellor, received a fracture of the skull and had not fully recovered consciousness this afternoon at 2 o'clock; H.D. Craig, Chancellor, was badly hurt about his shoulders and hips; Steve Williamson, of Brock Road, a brother of the dead man, received serious injuries to his left leg; William Powell, of Chancellor, had his right knee cap badly fractured, and W.M. Lane, of Chancellor, foreman of this group of workmen, was severely injured about the back. Five other men, whose names could not be learned, jumped at the moment of the crash and were not hurt.<br /><br /><b>Injured Rushed Here</b><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The injured men were rushed to the Mary Washington Hospital as soon as possible after the accident where they were given emergency treatment by Drs. S. L. Scott, J.N. Barney and T.W. Dew. After the first treatments more&nbsp;<b> </b>thorough examinations were given the injured. All of them, with the exception of Jones, probably will recover, physicians stated today. Jones has a dangerous fracture and his condition is bordering on the critical though he has a very good fighting chance for life. Physicians stated today that they were unable to operate on him because of his weakened condition.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Attempts to obtain an exact detailed account of the accident failed this morning when members of the administrative force at the Virginia Central railroad offices here said they had not received any official account of the accident and that the did not know the names of all those on the car. The injured men could not be interviewed and none of those who escaped injury could be located in town.<br /><br /><b>Cars Jammed Together</b><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From unofficial sources, however, it was learned that the accident happened just beyond the fifteen mile post, half way between Brock Road and Parkers Station. The men, in charge of foreman Lane, were proceeding west on two cars, a lever car attached to and preceding a motor car which was pushing it. The lever on the old type car was not being used but the car merely was in service to provide sufficient room for the gang of workmen.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The two cars, it was said, had picked up members of the force at various points along the route and were traveling at a nominal rate of speed when the accident happened. Just what caused the accident is not known, but it may have been due to defective or spreading rails, although this had not been absolutely ascertained this afternoon.<br /><br /><b>Lever Car Jumps Rails</b><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Something, however, caused the lever car to leave the rails and immediately that wheels caught on the ties or in the gravel between them, its acceleration was sharply reduced and the motor car crashed heavily into the rear of the car in front. The two cars buckled, it is said, and Williamson was thrown off, falling directly under the motor car which crushed down on him. He was killed instantly.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The other men were thrown off the colliding cars at different angles and in different ways. The injured men were picked up and placed on the side of the road by fellow workmen.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As soon as possible after the accident the injured were rushed to the local hospital where they received treatment.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Due to the distance at which the accident happened it was nearly 11 o'clock before the men reached the local institution.<br /><br /><b>Survived by family</b><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Williamson, who was killed in the accident, is survived by his wife and three children, all of whom reside in the Chancellor neighborhood. Williamson's wife was notified of the accident and arrived before the body was removed. Wives of some of the injured men came immediately to the local hospital after hearing of the accident.<br /><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </b>Spotsylvania County authorities will hold an inquest and probably an investigation of the causes of the accident.<br /><br />&nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Details in today's post about the history of the railroad come from Robert Hodges' article, <i>The Narrow Gauge Railroad</i>, which can be found at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.librarypoint.org/narrow_gauge_railroad">LibraryPoint</a>, the website of the Central Rapphannock Regional Library.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A special thank you is also in order to Spotsylvania researcher and genealogist Wil Bowler, who provided background information on some of the families mentioned today. <br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLEzaFIQugg/VHN_TQS-SuI/AAAAAAAAooA/4YR7R_qTQjc/s1600/1999010Pl1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yLEzaFIQugg/VHN_TQS-SuI/AAAAAAAAooA/4YR7R_qTQjc/s1600/1999010Pl1-2.jpg" height="197" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PF&amp;P engine and tender (Courtesy of CRHC)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A postscript - &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Noel Harrison, historian with the Fredericksburg &amp; Spotsylvania National Military Park, has shared with me the fact that in the last year of its operation, the railroad utilized a self-propelled passenger car with subway seating (that is, with the seats facing each other). <br /><br />&nbsp;Since I wrote this piece three more photographs of the historic Virginia Central Railway have been shared with me by fellow researcher Dena Cooper. Dated 1936, these pictures were taken just two years before the VCR went out of business for good. According to Noel Harrison, the first and third images shows the train standing in the yards at its terminus in Orange. The other picture is a stark reminder of how dangerous conditions on this line could be:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--PJX42vQtMg/VH9V2XoBjFI/AAAAAAAAoog/9Xb6anc9Zc0/s1600/Scan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--PJX42vQtMg/VH9V2XoBjFI/AAAAAAAAoog/9Xb6anc9Zc0/s1600/Scan.jpg" height="185" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bxeaCUYn4-w/VH9V92wzA4I/AAAAAAAAooo/MKbSzTi_km8/s1600/Scan%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bxeaCUYn4-w/VH9V92wzA4I/AAAAAAAAooo/MKbSzTi_km8/s1600/Scan%2B2.jpg" height="185" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r3WALlu0xHo/VH9WFe4GDMI/AAAAAAAAoow/dn2mgD_Sna0/s1600/Scan%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r3WALlu0xHo/VH9WFe4GDMI/AAAAAAAAoow/dn2mgD_Sna0/s1600/Scan%2B1.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/11/death-on-virginia-central.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-7589720416923156589Mon, 17 Nov 2014 22:17:00 +00002014-11-18T19:33:59.215-05:00Thomas Pearson Payne<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yAtuwV3ykMc/VGpfXRWrBAI/AAAAAAAAog8/4EEi-IAMoZM/s1600/James%2BPayne%2Bl%2BThomas%2BPayne%2Br%2BCH_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yAtuwV3ykMc/VGpfXRWrBAI/AAAAAAAAog8/4EEi-IAMoZM/s1600/James%2BPayne%2Bl%2BThomas%2BPayne%2Br%2BCH_edited-1.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fisticuffs on the courthouse lawn. Late 1800s.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He was devoted to his family, his church and his community. He played an active role in Spotsylvania politics for many years. The photographic record of his life and that of his family is vast; only a small sample can be shared with you today. Unless otherwise noted, all pictures are from the Colvin Collection. [Please click on the images in my blog for enlarged viewing]<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rSg5TQbZj9Y/VGpgaIE7kOI/AAAAAAAAohE/6yoNKBLuHBA/s1600/JessePayne_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rSg5TQbZj9Y/VGpgaIE7kOI/AAAAAAAAohE/6yoNKBLuHBA/s1600/JessePayne_original.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jesse William Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GpzeOiXsItU/VGpgkZKXk_I/AAAAAAAAohM/YVoSCau7taA/s1600/Zebulon%2BPayne%2Band%2BCatherine%2BHicks%2BPayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GpzeOiXsItU/VGpgkZKXk_I/AAAAAAAAohM/YVoSCau7taA/s1600/Zebulon%2BPayne%2Band%2BCatherine%2BHicks%2BPayne.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catherine Hicks Payne and her son Zebulon "Buckshot" Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas Pearson Payne was born in Spotsylvania on 5 August 1852. He was the firstborn child of Jesse William Payne (1821-1881) and Catherine Ann Hicks (1833-1911), arriving seven months after his parents' wedding. Catherine Hicks was a daughter of Spotsylvania farmer and constable Thomas Hicks and the granddaughter of Thomas Hicks, long time Spotsylvania jailor. In the photograph below, Thomas Hicks, Jr. is believed to be standing at far right.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhzainUQTfc/VGphxTsl7HI/AAAAAAAAohY/FnRi2Q3YCCI/s1600/thomasshicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhzainUQTfc/VGphxTsl7HI/AAAAAAAAohY/FnRi2Q3YCCI/s1600/thomasshicks.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before joining the Confederate army, Jesse Payne rented the farm of Neil McCoull, which would become the epicenter of the vicious day-long fight at the Bloody Angle. Jesse lost an eye during the war but otherwise was able to return home safely. Jesse Payne died at age fifty nine while threshing wheat on the farm of his father in law.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vXQ9KT2pxmo/VGpjM80LRvI/AAAAAAAAoho/vPhRdLhQAb0/s1600/Rebecca%2BLohr%2BPayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vXQ9KT2pxmo/VGpjM80LRvI/AAAAAAAAoho/vPhRdLhQAb0/s1600/Rebecca%2BLohr%2BPayne.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rebecca Catherine Lohr</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas Payne married Rebecca Catherine Lohr of Madison County on 20 September 1872. Like his father, Thomas rented the McCoull farm where his seven children were born:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BIdxMFPiZ-s/VGpj6CSTlJI/AAAAAAAAoh0/0qlveQ2ce4c/s1600/frank%2Bpayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BIdxMFPiZ-s/VGpj6CSTlJI/AAAAAAAAoh0/0qlveQ2ce4c/s1600/frank%2Bpayne.jpg" height="320" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br />- Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Payne (1873-1957) operated a saw mill near his home on Catharpin Road and was chief forest warden of Spotsylvania County for twenty seven years. He married my great aunt Lottie Kent in 1928.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-imFI7HFisnA/VGpkqjz9bcI/AAAAAAAAoh8/M-eib8LyE8E/s1600/Frederick%2BPayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-imFI7HFisnA/VGpkqjz9bcI/AAAAAAAAoh8/M-eib8LyE8E/s1600/Frederick%2BPayne.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frederick Linwood Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LrHOSfC0Lps/VGpk0Uec2dI/AAAAAAAAoiE/bmXfMQmJgCs/s1600/fredpayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LrHOSfC0Lps/VGpk0Uec2dI/AAAAAAAAoiE/bmXfMQmJgCs/s1600/fredpayne.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fred Payne at the McCoull house. About 1900.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mtg8NebO3OE/VGplBEc-ZII/AAAAAAAAoiM/Hf0Z8rTISUA/s1600/Freemond%2BPayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mtg8NebO3OE/VGplBEc-ZII/AAAAAAAAoiM/Hf0Z8rTISUA/s1600/Freemond%2BPayne.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freemond Clifton Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br />- Fred Payne and his twin brother Freemond were born in 1875 and each lived into his nineties. We used to see them sitting out in the yard together on Catharpin Road in the 1960s.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ALo3EWt0zgo/VGpmlKAmSeI/AAAAAAAAoiY/YLbVHKWl70I/s1600/Frederick%2BPayne%2C%2BCharles%2BTalley%2C%2BAnnie%2BTalley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ALo3EWt0zgo/VGpmlKAmSeI/AAAAAAAAoiY/YLbVHKWl70I/s1600/Frederick%2BPayne%2C%2BCharles%2BTalley%2C%2BAnnie%2BTalley.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fred Payne, Charles Talley and Annie Rebecca Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br />- Annie Rebecca Payne (1878-1949) married Spotsylvania farmer Charles Talley in 1899 and had five children with him.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N5ry9egCy4c/VGpnI8te5HI/AAAAAAAAoig/1FDfZhmtjI0/s1600/Nettie%2BPayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N5ry9egCy4c/VGpnI8te5HI/AAAAAAAAoig/1FDfZhmtjI0/s1600/Nettie%2BPayne.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nettie Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qe4NifDVids/VGpnRwfuRuI/AAAAAAAAoio/oqivUr2bnSI/s1600/Merle%2BChilton%2BStrickler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qe4NifDVids/VGpnRwfuRuI/AAAAAAAAoio/oqivUr2bnSI/s1600/Merle%2BChilton%2BStrickler.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merle Chilton Strickler</td></tr></tbody></table><br />- Anzonetta "Nettie" Payne (1880-1961) married John Moncure Chilton in 1910. Their only child, Merle, taught school in Spotsylvania for 32 years and is fondly remembered by many of us.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Edx1xPFyNDs/VGpn6JZjkII/AAAAAAAAoiw/Ge4YBpk5oFI/s1600/Bessie%2BPayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Edx1xPFyNDs/VGpn6JZjkII/AAAAAAAAoiw/Ge4YBpk5oFI/s1600/Bessie%2BPayne.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bessie Lee Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kCkn_gAd5e8/VGpoD38cIYI/AAAAAAAAoi4/xcFZCS6BLL4/s1600/Frederick%2BPayne%2C%2BJohn%2Bcalvin%2BJennings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kCkn_gAd5e8/VGpoD38cIYI/AAAAAAAAoi4/xcFZCS6BLL4/s1600/Frederick%2BPayne%2C%2BJohn%2Bcalvin%2BJennings.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fred Payne and John Calvin Jennings (right)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />- Bessie Lee Payne (1882-1973) married John Calvin Jennings in 1901. Bessie was the postmistress at Finchville from 1908 until 1914, when the post office was discontinued and its operations were moved to Screamersville.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ahLDlCq-Ecg/VGpo0W56O1I/AAAAAAAAojA/akoytU7tv8E/s1600/scan0160_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ahLDlCq-Ecg/VGpo0W56O1I/AAAAAAAAojA/akoytU7tv8E/s1600/scan0160_original.jpg" height="320" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashby Payne</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tjc0IidjzS8/VGpo-m6huiI/AAAAAAAAojI/Rt84o95feDA/s1600/ashbybessie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tjc0IidjzS8/VGpo-m6huiI/AAAAAAAAojI/Rt84o95feDA/s1600/ashbybessie.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashby and Bessie Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br />- Ashby Payne (1885-1942) was the second husband of Ruby Ray Kent, whom he married in 1926. Ashby and Ruby lived near the intersection of Catharpin and Stewart Roads. Ashby is remembered for his fiddle playing at local dances and for providing liquid refreshment as well. He died after being kicked by a horse in the barn.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1nModU4gGY/VGpp2VCLDFI/AAAAAAAAojQ/OH1zSmezYc4/s1600/img796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1nModU4gGY/VGpp2VCLDFI/AAAAAAAAojQ/OH1zSmezYc4/s1600/img796.jpg" height="274" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotsylvania Court House. Late 1800s. </td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas Pearson Payne served for a number of years as deputy commissioner of revenue for the St. George's district. In the group portrait above, he is seated second from left. There were apparently whisperings of voting irregularities during his tenure, but I have found no mention of it in the local newspapers of the time. Thomas was also elected as a delegate to the state Democratic convention in 1899:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oK58x_cYI5U/VGpq10FYk_I/AAAAAAAAojY/PwZ8-gKRp38/s1600/DS%2B1%2BSep%2B1899.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oK58x_cYI5U/VGpq10FYk_I/AAAAAAAAojY/PwZ8-gKRp38/s1600/DS%2B1%2BSep%2B1899.png" height="320" width="307" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Daily Star </i>1 September 1899</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Payne's long run as deputy commissioner of revenue ended in 1911 when he was defeated by Irvin Chandler Clore by fifty eight votes. Afterwards Thomas Payne served as county assessor. Clore went on to serve twelve years as deputy commissioner of revenue, twelve years as county treasurer and finally as a trial justice until his death in 1944.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lTl5rkut1g4/VGprrPrWIqI/AAAAAAAAojg/kcKvc9RCDoM/s1600/1486708_10201867273057331_117162702_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lTl5rkut1g4/VGprrPrWIqI/AAAAAAAAojg/kcKvc9RCDoM/s1600/1486708_10201867273057331_117162702_n.jpg" height="320" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irvin Chandler Clore (courtesy of Wil Bowler)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas and Rebecca Payne became friends with Pennsylvania native John Okie and his family, who would come down to hunt with the Paynes in Spotsylvania. The following photographs were taken about 1900, possibly during the same outing. The Ferneyhough place mentioned in the photographs had once been the home of John B. Ferneyhough, located on Catharpin Road near Old Plank Road on the site of today's Sawhill subdivision:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OEofhgWd0H8/VGps927gwOI/AAAAAAAAojs/Hl5jqOKrhbY/s1600/scan0169_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OEofhgWd0H8/VGps927gwOI/AAAAAAAAojs/Hl5jqOKrhbY/s1600/scan0169_original.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Pearson Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-VXUt_Dejk/VGptKejHwpI/AAAAAAAAoj0/4_QlAA1bwuA/s1600/Ferneyhough%2Bplace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-VXUt_Dejk/VGptKejHwpI/AAAAAAAAoj0/4_QlAA1bwuA/s1600/Ferneyhough%2Bplace.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Payne family at the Ferneyhough place</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GYqUGqmIBic/VGptZ4kCbwI/AAAAAAAAoj8/A-BO7iCTw9g/s1600/ashby%2Czeb%2Ctp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GYqUGqmIBic/VGptZ4kCbwI/AAAAAAAAoj8/A-BO7iCTw9g/s1600/ashby%2Czeb%2Ctp.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashby, Zebulon and Thomas Pearson Payne</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CKNP0-XLO90/VGptqtp0hVI/AAAAAAAAokE/ULR-5zZMYyQ/s1600/Chancellorsville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CKNP0-XLO90/VGptqtp0hVI/AAAAAAAAokE/ULR-5zZMYyQ/s1600/Chancellorsville.jpg" height="243" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Payne's dogs near Chancellorsville</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas Payne's hunting dogs can be seen both in the photo taken at Ferneyhough's as well as on Old Plank Road within sight of Chancellorsville.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Over the years Thomas acquired a number of parcels of land in Spotsylvania, including the places where his sons built their houses. He bought land for himself on the corner of Cartharpin and Piney Branch Roads on the Ni River, where he built his house. He called his home Hazelfield.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j2FzaVrxxaI/VGpuomjreiI/AAAAAAAAokQ/FuunpYeBibU/s1600/banjo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j2FzaVrxxaI/VGpuomjreiI/AAAAAAAAokQ/FuunpYeBibU/s1600/banjo.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paynes at home</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A good many of the Payne family photos were taken at Hazelfield. This rare interior picture made about 1905 shows Thomas strumming his banjo. In front his granddaughter Rubye is held by her Aunt Nettie, with her mother Emma Payne seated at right. Behind them are Rebecca, Ashby, Frank and Thomas.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1wYkFyWdpzk/VGpvq2LobXI/AAAAAAAAokY/AvPVKZRWIMs/s1600/scan0097_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1wYkFyWdpzk/VGpvq2LobXI/AAAAAAAAokY/AvPVKZRWIMs/s1600/scan0097_original.jpg" height="187" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nettie Payne Chilton and Thomas Payne at the well at Hazelfield</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34J4TeY8lRw/VGpv57Sts2I/AAAAAAAAokg/L2zYv0KyFJo/s1600/5paynes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34J4TeY8lRw/VGpv57Sts2I/AAAAAAAAokg/L2zYv0KyFJo/s1600/5paynes.jpg" height="267" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas, Rebecca, Frank, Nettie and Ashby</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas Payne was a lifelong member of Goshen Baptist Church, where he was superintendent of the Sunday school.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rk55eLUqhpg/VGpwgBEU7JI/AAAAAAAAoko/ciNjc6ibmGQ/s1600/Goshenc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rk55eLUqhpg/VGpwgBEU7JI/AAAAAAAAoko/ciNjc6ibmGQ/s1600/Goshenc.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goshen Baptist Church</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So what the heck are those two fellows fighting about in the photograph at the top of today's post? Thomas Payne (right) and his brother James used to put on mock boxing exhibitions to entertain the crowds of people gathered there when court was in session.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas Pearson Payne died at home on 17 April 1934, having outlived Rebecca by eight years. He and Rebecca and all of their children are buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Spotsylvania.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZa3vxqgEiI/VGpxZUpkzPI/AAAAAAAAok0/6cOr5R9Vr2U/s1600/Thomas%2BPearson%2BPayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZa3vxqgEiI/VGpxZUpkzPI/AAAAAAAAok0/6cOr5R9Vr2U/s1600/Thomas%2BPearson%2BPayne.jpg" height="320" width="189" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas and Rhoda posing for the camera</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/11/thomas-pearson-payne.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-3430719460183857298Sat, 18 Oct 2014 22:10:00 +00002014-10-19T09:36:50.858-04:00Ralph Happel's Eulogy to Phenie Tapp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D8wnZHLPDYI/VELirfekMVI/AAAAAAAAoA0/FvbKgZtUS44/s1600/Phenie%2BTapp%2BInterview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D8wnZHLPDYI/VELirfekMVI/AAAAAAAAoA0/FvbKgZtUS44/s1600/Phenie%2BTapp%2BInterview.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Since my recent post on <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-world-according-to-phenie-tapp.html">the life and times of Phenie Tapp,</a> I have received a number of inquiries about the substance of National Park Historian Ralph Happel's interview with Phenie about the battle of the Wilderness. If that interview were still extant, I would have happily included it in my article about Phenie. Unfortunately, according to Eric Mink, historian at the Fredericksburg &amp; Spotsylvania National Military Park, neither the text of that interview nor Happel's notes survive. [Please click on images in my blog for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What we do have, however, is the eulogy to Phenie that Ralph Happel wrote for the Free Lance Star when Phenie died in 1944. Since Phenie Tapp was only four years old at the time of the battle on her family's farm, I think that this excellently written piece by Mr. Happel serves as a more than adequate substitute:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2OV0c_Q1_CE/VELkybnL7yI/AAAAAAAAoBA/kSWzHyK1uuI/s1600/eulogy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2OV0c_Q1_CE/VELkybnL7yI/AAAAAAAAoBA/kSWzHyK1uuI/s1600/eulogy1.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8dGSWAFOU6E/VELlAmPu1CI/AAAAAAAAoBI/s24b_bUH7Hs/s1600/eulogy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8dGSWAFOU6E/VELlAmPu1CI/AAAAAAAAoBI/s24b_bUH7Hs/s1600/eulogy2.jpg" height="135" width="320" /></a></div><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/10/ralph-happels-eulogy-to-phenie-tapp.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-2341799801977542801Tue, 14 Oct 2014 12:36:00 +00002014-10-14T11:40:49.518-04:00Sprig Dempsey and the Battle of Catherine Furnace<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p2SpoJvRfH4/VD0IZvI4YhI/AAAAAAAAn-Y/CSEtibuERo8/s1600/257340_453673914672129_1036651821_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p2SpoJvRfH4/VD0IZvI4YhI/AAAAAAAAn-Y/CSEtibuERo8/s1600/257340_453673914672129_1036651821_o.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catherine Furnace (National Park Service)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A couple of years ago I wrote one of my most popular pieces, which described the fighting that took place at Catherine Furnace on 2 May 1863. New information has come to light this week which allows me today to solve one outstanding mystery and to add to what is already known about the foundry and the people associated with it.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; My earlier post described the crucial role of master blacksmith Absalom Herndon Chewning in the foundry's operation, as well as a highly entertaining account of the battle that occurred there during Stonewall Jackson's flank march. For those of you who have not already read it, now would be a good time to <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-furnace-rheumatism-and-yankees.html">click here</a> and enjoy this little known piece of Spotsylvania history. You won't be disappointed, I promise.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The identity of Sprig Dempsey has remained a mystery until now. Thanks to the investigative talents of two of Spotsylvania's premier genealogists, Wil Bowler and Tom Myers, I can now share with you his name and his story.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rkq9-FR4BQE/VD0KrfyrnTI/AAAAAAAAn-k/oklcaD3odAw/s1600/James%2BThomas%2BDempsey%2BCSA%2BPension%2BApplication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rkq9-FR4BQE/VD0KrfyrnTI/AAAAAAAAn-k/oklcaD3odAw/s1600/James%2BThomas%2BDempsey%2BCSA%2BPension%2BApplication.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1921 pension application of James Thomas Dempsey</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; James Thomas Dempsey was born in the Mine Run section of eastern Orange County in June 1845, the son of John L. Dempsey and Susan Nash. In 1875 he married Ann Elizabeth Brown of Culpeper County, where he thereafter lived until his death in 1931.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Late in life James "Sprig" Dempsey submitted two applications in order to obtain pension benefits as a disabled Confederate veteran. By this time he was suffering from rheumatism and heart disease and was no longer able to work. The first of these applications, dated 21 May 1917, was rejected due to a "misunderstanding of my service; papers being not clear." The second one, dated 23 December 1921 and shown above, provides us with much of what we now know. Dempsey did not enlist in one of the local regiments. Instead, he was detached from service in Richmond to work at Catherine Furnace. This makes me think that perhaps he was conscripted by Confederate authorities in June 1862 (not 1863, as he incorrectly remembers on his application). In any case, he notes that he "served faithfully."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On his pension application Dempsey listed two comrades who served with him during the war. One, of course, was Absalom Herndon Chewning, with whom we are already familiar. The other was another teenaged boy impressed into laboring at Catherine Furnace, John Lewis Morris.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John Morris was born in the Indiantown area of Orange County in 1848. He was inducted into the Confederate service in Spotsylvania on 1 September 1864 and worked at Catherine Furnace until December of that year, when he "left to join the regular Confederate army." Whether he was successful in doing so in unclear, as his name does not appear in any regimental roster that I can find. After his death in 1934 his widow filed for pension benefits as well. She cited his service in Company I of the 6th Virginia Cavalry, but I find no record of him there.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The fact that Sprig Dempsey and John Morris worked together at the Furnace in the autumn of 1864 lets us know that at some point after his capture during the battle of Chancellorsville he had been exchanged. In 1865 Dempsey was "discharged at the close of the war after Lee's surrender and paroled from Fredericksburg."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ATQR5ASMK2o/VD0Ql-97xZI/AAAAAAAAn-w/VTIMk7Tvby8/s1600/Page%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ATQR5ASMK2o/VD0Ql-97xZI/AAAAAAAAn-w/VTIMk7Tvby8/s1600/Page%2B2.jpg" height="317" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Spotsylvania, 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Both Dempsey and Morris mentioned the fact that their commanding officer was Charles Beverly Wellford (1829-1885).<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John Spottswood Wellford, C.B. Wellford's uncle, was responsible for establishing Catherine Furnace. Apparently named for his mother, the former Catherine Yates, the foundry was an integral part of the Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1836. The company relied heavily on military contracts, thereby missing a good chance at long term profitability in the pig iron business while prices were high. By the time of J.S. Wellford's death in 1846, the furnace became inactive and ownership passed to his brother Charles Carter Wellford, father of C.B. Wellford.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0vqtieEUXCw/VD0SXFmuVuI/AAAAAAAAn-4/ytGLX-Ar-YQ/s1600/wellford-charles-1947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0vqtieEUXCw/VD0SXFmuVuI/AAAAAAAAn-4/ytGLX-Ar-YQ/s1600/wellford-charles-1947.jpg" height="320" width="190" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Carter Wellford (National Park Service)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition to their house in Fredericksburg, the family of C.C. Wellford owned a home in Spotsylvania on modern Jackson Trail East. The nearby furnace which he owned can be seen in the center of the map detail above, just north of the unfinished Fredericksburg &amp; Gordonsville Railroad. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The coming of the Civil War brought new opportunities to both father and son. Charles Beverly Wellford enlisted as a private in Captain Pollock's Company Virginia Light Artillery. Meanwhile, in 1862 his father signed a contract with the Confederate government to produce 2,000 tons of pig iron at the newly reopened furnace. The determination was made that Private Wellford's talents were better utilized in his father's iron enterprise than with the army. Accordingly, on 4 April 1862 George Minor, Chief of Ordnance and Hydrography, petitioned Secretary of War George W. Randolph to release C.B. Wellford from active service in order to assume new responsibilities at Catherine Furnace (as a civilian Minor was a professional musician and he resumed his avocation after the war).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3An7E8X90PY/VD0VLlYbtTI/AAAAAAAAn_E/nP_D2iSsd4Y/s1600/Welford%2CCatherine%2BFurnace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3An7E8X90PY/VD0VLlYbtTI/AAAAAAAAn_E/nP_D2iSsd4Y/s1600/Welford%2CCatherine%2BFurnace.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petition of George Minor to G.W. Randolph, April 1862</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the battle of Chancellorsville, at the time that Sprig Dempsey and Absalom Chewning were seeking to escape from Union forces probing the rear of the Confederate column, Charles B. Wellford acted as a guide for General Jackson, taking him through the country lanes leading to Brock Road.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1864 Catherine Furnace was destroyed by Union cavalry commanded by General George Custer. It was rebuilt, however, and continued to produce iron for the Confederacy until 1865.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A bizarre footnote to the Wellfords' wartime experience occurred during the Federal occupation of Fredericksburg in the weeks following Lee's surrender. From the 7 June 1865 edition of the <i>Fredericksburg Ledger</i>:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T9YA9p2YX9w/VD0WrumoTZI/AAAAAAAAn_Q/JV__qEpm8ko/s1600/FL%2B7%2BJun%2B1865.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T9YA9p2YX9w/VD0WrumoTZI/AAAAAAAAn_Q/JV__qEpm8ko/s1600/FL%2B7%2BJun%2B1865.png" height="235" width="320" /></a></div><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/10/sprig-dempsey-and-battle-of-catherine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-5450380821571327529Wed, 08 Oct 2014 00:36:00 +00002014-10-07T20:36:54.548-04:00William Lee Andrews<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ay0XFeOhoLc/VDSE3bXWKZI/AAAAAAAAn9w/69ofP2zBs4U/s1600/wlandrews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ay0XFeOhoLc/VDSE3bXWKZI/AAAAAAAAn9w/69ofP2zBs4U/s1600/wlandrews.jpg" height="320" width="267" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Lee Andrews</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William Lee Andrews was born in Caroline County on 18 January 1827. Before the Civil War he was a member of the local militia, the Sparta Grays, when this reversed image photograph of him was taken. During the war, William served in the 30th Virginia Infantry and the 9th Virginia Cavalry.&nbsp; His daughter, Myrtle Clyde Andrews, married Irvin Malcom "Mack" Chewning of Mount View in Spotsylvania. W.L. Andrews died in Caroline County on 3 August 1895. <br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; One of the best images of a Confederate soldier I have seen. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/10/william-lee-andrews.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-2115970457461245610Sat, 04 Oct 2014 13:49:00 +00002014-10-04T09:49:57.320-04:00The Return of Lizzie's Stone<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S0pAOPPomXA/VC_oXODWYkI/AAAAAAAAn8w/4U58-veT00Y/s1600/img652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S0pAOPPomXA/VC_oXODWYkI/AAAAAAAAn8w/4U58-veT00Y/s1600/img652.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizzie Houston Row, 1875</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is the story of how a wanton act of destruction has been redeemed by the kindness of strangers. Motivated only by a sense of decency and a desire to do the right thing, they have done my family a great service. Today's post is dedicated to them.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Long time readers of Spotsylvania Memory are already familiar with my great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Houston Row, whose eventful life's story has been the subject of many posts here. Born in Rockbridge County in 1854, Lizzie was a member of the storied Houston family, which included her grandfather's cousin, General Samuel Houston. She enjoyed a storybook upbringing in a loving and strictly Presbyterian household at her family's farm, Mount Pleasant. She was educated at the Ann Smith Academy in Lexington and by the time she was twenty one was being courted by a number of young suitors. She was also ardently pursued by George Washington Estes Row of Spotsylvania, who met her while he was in Rockbridge on business. Although eleven years her senior, and a widower with a young son, George won out over his younger rivals and married her in December 1875. He brought her home to Spotsylvania, where he built a house for them at Sunshine, his farm adjacent to Greenfield, his family's ancestral home. Lizzie lived there until her death in January 1928. She was buried in the cemetery at Greenfield.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the 1800s Greenfield was a sprawling plantation in western Spotsylvania. A portion of it, including the house and dependencies, was sold out of the family in 1905. Today the old burying ground is surrounded by Fawn Lake subdivision beside a man made lake. There are actually two Greenfield cemeteries - that of my ancestors and the other set aside for their slaves - at the foot of the dam which created the lake. For those of you who may be interested in reading a brief history of Greenfield and how this section of it became an upscale subdivision, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/10/greenfield.html">click here</a>. This photograph of the cemetery was taken in 2007 from atop the dam by fellow researcher Mary Edith Arnold:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7SThmXuYi0/VC_tD0uz3aI/AAAAAAAAn88/RQQ_7ohlcs8/s1600/Greenfield%2BCemetery%2C%2B2007%2Bview%2Bfrom%2Babove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M7SThmXuYi0/VC_tD0uz3aI/AAAAAAAAn88/RQQ_7ohlcs8/s1600/Greenfield%2BCemetery%2C%2B2007%2Bview%2Bfrom%2Babove.jpg" height="216" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greenfield cemetery</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For almost seventy years after it was sold, this cemetery and the surrounding acreage remained undisturbed by encroaching civilization and was still undeveloped farm land until it was sold to a development company more than forty years ago. The explosion of growth in Spotsylvania County since that time has put pressure on the two cemeteries. Changes in air quality have obliterated the inscription on the headstone of George Washington Estes Row, and the field stones that once marked the burial sites of the slaves are strewn about. However, years ago Fawn Lake installed a handsome picket fence around my family's graveyard and the grass is kept mowed.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9I0ghIU_7Mw/VC_urgJdnRI/AAAAAAAAn9I/OqLUupSArME/s1600/complete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9I0ghIU_7Mw/VC_urgJdnRI/AAAAAAAAn9I/OqLUupSArME/s1600/complete.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizzie Houston's headstone</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unfortunately, unlike the other stones there, that of great grandmother Lizzie's was not set in the ground. Instead, it sat in the opening of its stone base. This arrangement made it more vulnerable to problems as its connection to the base became undone. Still, as late as fifteen years ago the headstone&nbsp; was still in one piece. However, by 2007 it had broken in two. In January 2009 it looked like this:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pP819Q0k3rU/VC_wFVuL8vI/AAAAAAAAn9Q/6fydtuztZUg/s1600/2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pP819Q0k3rU/VC_wFVuL8vI/AAAAAAAAn9Q/6fydtuztZUg/s1600/2009.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In April 2011 a group of Lizzie's descendants, including myself and accompanied by Spotsylvania historian John Cummings, returned to the cemetery with two goals in mind. We came prepared to straighten the three oldest stones there, those of Richard Estes and his wife and daughter, which had been leaning for decades. We also intended to attempt a repair to Lizzie's headstone and join the two fragments together.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We were instead shocked by what we found. The top portion of the stone was gone. The bottom piece had been smashed to bits. Sadly, all we could do that day was load the shattered remains of Lizzie's stone into the truck, and also the foot stone of Catherine Estes, which seemed to me damaged by tree roots:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4NQdDoTvUjw/VC_x3UrI9MI/AAAAAAAAn9c/ktUGomjJIvY/s1600/DSC_0060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4NQdDoTvUjw/VC_x3UrI9MI/AAAAAAAAn9c/ktUGomjJIvY/s1600/DSC_0060.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by John Cummings</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Our intention has been to replace the stone some day.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This state of affairs remained unchanged until I received an email earlier this week from Fawn Lake resident Sandy Fitzpatrick, who took it upon herself to track down my email address. In her long and generous letter, Sandy described how she and her fourteen year old son Liam had solved the riddle of the missing portion of Lizzie's vandalized headstone. With her kind permission I quote from Sandy's letter:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>My son and I were down at the dam yesterday - the water level is very low due to an incident last week when the valve on the dam would not shut and as a consequence the lake level is extremely low. I do not believe that the water had anything at all to do with the headstone being moved, but it may be why people, especially teenagers and strangers to our community, might have been in the area and may have been drawn to the cemetery. </i>[Sandy and I have since decided that the stone was likely thrown down the dam embankment at the same time when the bottom half of the stone was destroyed.] <i>My son found the top of the stone on the water-side of the dam. It looked as if it had been dropped there as it is cracked in half horizontally over Mrs. Houston's name. Additionally, it was not buried in the muck of the area where the water had receded, rather sitting directly on top without any water debris or stains anywhere that would indicate it had been in the water itself. We came home immediately and notified our security and they assured me that they were already on the way to retrieve the stone...The officer on duty at the time was Tabitha, who was very concerned about retrieving the headstone as soon as possible.&nbsp;</i><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Indeed, with the intercession of Helen Bradley, manager of resident services for Fawn Lake, the fragments of Lizzie Houston Row's headstone were soon returned to her grave:<br /><i> </i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVEuRD6bt54/VC_2n4iMh4I/AAAAAAAAn9k/siFutIBLk38/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CVEuRD6bt54/VC_2n4iMh4I/AAAAAAAAn9k/siFutIBLk38/s1600/photo.jpg" height="320" width="175" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; </i>We are fortunate that the stone was spotted by alert and caring persons like Sandy<i> </i>and Liam Fitzpatrick. Because of their energetic and selfless response, this part of our family's long history in Spotsylvania has been saved. With gratitude and appreciation I tip my hat to my new friends, the Fitzpatricks.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-return-of-lizzies-stone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-8002136213359863696Sat, 27 Sep 2014 17:33:00 +00002015-01-10T01:27:10.231-05:00The World According to Phenie Tapp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kWTQL4KZwx0/VDqZEt6sVYI/AAAAAAAAn-I/_SA3rBxw9Wc/s1600/Phenie%2BTapp%2BInterview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kWTQL4KZwx0/VDqZEt6sVYI/AAAAAAAAn-I/_SA3rBxw9Wc/s1600/Phenie%2BTapp%2BInterview.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo enhancement courtesy of Tom Myers</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For students of the battle of the Wilderness, the words "the Widow Tapp farm" evoke images of the near capture of Robert E. Lee followed by his stirring effort to personally lead the newly arrived Texas Brigade against Hancock's advancing troops. For all that has been written about that pivotal moment for the Army of Northern Virginia, much less is known about Mrs. Tapp and the personal stories of her extended family. As we shall see, were it not for the unlucky circumstance of having this battle fought near her cabin, no one would have ever heard of her. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of course, she did not enter this world known as the Widow Tapp. She began her life in Orange County as Catherine Elizabeth Dempsey about 1803, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Dempsey. In December 1833 she married Vincent Tapp of Culpeper County and by 1840 they had settled in Spotsylvania, where they raised their three daughters and two sons.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Tapps were not wealthy people; far from it. They eked out a hardscrabble existence from land rented from Horace Lacy, owner of nearby "Ellwood." They owned no slaves. Before he died in about 1857, Vincent Tapp's name appeared on the list of Spotsylvania's insolvents.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNU6UvgwBis/VCazX4ipB5I/AAAAAAAAn7w/xpaEvVh3uEg/s1600/%2Btapp%2Bhouse%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNU6UvgwBis/VCazX4ipB5I/AAAAAAAAn7w/xpaEvVh3uEg/s1600/%2Btapp%2Bhouse%2B.jpg" height="153" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tapp house (National Park Service)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This watercolor of the Tapp cabin was painted by artist and Union army veteran George Leo Frankenstein in 1865. It is the only known image of the Tapp home. The cabin measured about 20'x30' and housed as many as seven people at a time. The 1860 census tells us that this humble structure was home to Catherine Tapp, daughters Sarah Elizabeth, Margaret, Harriet and her husband Andrew Jackson Lewis, and son James. The other son, William Benjamin Tapp, was evidently living in Culpeper County at the time.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not shown on that census was one other person living in Catherine Tapp's cramped cabin - a baby girl. We will return to this child shortly.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5-Zc_mBCaXo/VCa1DKPWj6I/AAAAAAAAn74/zbyz9GzcHlA/s1600/map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5-Zc_mBCaXo/VCa1DKPWj6I/AAAAAAAAn74/zbyz9GzcHlA/s1600/map.jpg" height="300" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Spotsylvania, 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Across Orange Plank Road from the Tapp place was the farm of Thomas and Eliza Pulliam. In the map detail above, their property is indicated as "Mrs. Pulliam" in the lower left of the image just southeast of the uncompleted Fredericksburg &amp; Gordonsville Railroad. To the west of the Pulliams' house was "Mount View," the home of William V. Chewning, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-furnace-rheumatism-and-yankees.html">whose son Absalom</a> supervised work at the Catherine Furnace for the Confederacy. To the southeast was the farm of Eliza's brother Richard H. Pulliam. Unlike the Tapps, who were tenant farmers,&nbsp; Thomas and Eliza Pulliam were freeholders and slave owners. Living with them were their two sons, Thomas Richard (known locally as "Tom Dick") and John James. By 1860 Eliza Pulliam shared two things in common with her neighbor Catherine Tapp. First, they were both widows. Like Vincent Tapp, Thomas Pulliam (who may have been a cousin of Eliza) died during the 1850s.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The other thing that these two widows shared was the fact that they were both grandmothers of the baby girl born in the Tapp house in February 1860.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By 1859 Thomas Richard Pulliam was having an affair with Catherine Tapp's oldest daughter, twenty five year old Sarah Elizabeth. The child born of this relationship, Eliza Frances, is known to history as Phenie Tapp.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thomas R. Pulliam appears to have been at the least reluctant, and even unwilling, to acknowledge his paternity of Phenie or any obligation to marry Sarah Elizabeth. As one might expect, Sarah was herself unwilling to accept this unsatisfactory status quo and she sought relief in court. The result was that Thomas Richard Pulliam was compelled to sign this bastardy bond in June 1860, in which he finally acknowledged his paternity of Phenie and pledged to provide support until she reached age 14:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKpd6bGB4xE/VCa6LNOLe3I/AAAAAAAAn8A/QLX3wgLfw7o/s1600/bond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKpd6bGB4xE/VCa6LNOLe3I/AAAAAAAAn8A/QLX3wgLfw7o/s1600/bond.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bastardy bond of Thomas R. Pulliam (CRHC)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Know all men by these presents that we Thos. R. Pulliam &amp; [blank] are held &amp; firmly</i> <i>bound unto the overseer of the Poor for the county of Spotsylvania in the Just and full sum of one hundred fifty dollars to which payment well &amp; truly to be made to the said overseer of the poor for said county, we bind ourselves our heirs Exors. &amp; honor jointly &amp; severally by these presents. Sealed hereto our seals [29th?] day of June 1860 and adjudge that Thos. R. Pulliam who was thereof accused &amp; was the father of a Bastard child of Sarah E. Tapp an unmarried white woman of the said county, did order him the said Thos. R. Pulliam to enter into bond with good security conditioned for the maintenance of the said bastard child for the term of fourteen years. Now if the said Thos. R. Pulliam shall on each and every year on the first day of May on each &amp; every such year for the term of fourteen years beginning this day to be paid to the overseer of the Poor of said county the sum of ten dollars per annum as aforesaid for the support &amp; maintenance of the said bastard child; then this obligation to be void otherwise to remain in full force and virtue.</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Thos R. Pulliam (Seal)</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Thomas C. Pulliam (Seal)</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; R.W. Carter (Seal)</i><br /><i>1868. April 6. Cr. the above bond by seventy dollars paid this day by T.R. Pulliam which has been paid over to S.E. Tapp.</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; R.C. Dabney</i><br /><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; </i>This situation had scarcely simmered down when the sons of both Catherine Tapp and Eliza Pulliam took up arms for the Confederacy. Thomas and John Pulliam enlisted in Company E of the 9th Virginia Cavalry,&nbsp;<a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/06/george-washington-estes-row-part-2.html">the same regiment of my great grandfather</a><i>. </i>William Benjamin Tapp joined Stuart's Light Horse Artillery, while his brother James signed up with the 7th Virginia Infantry in the fall of 1862. James fell ill almost immediately and remained on the sick list for the entire time he was a soldier until he died in the summer of 1863.<br /><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </i>One would think that Tom Dick Pulliam would have his hands full fighting the Union army and avoiding responsibility for his daughter. One would be wrong. During the war he found the time and energy to bed the wife of Oscar Mastin, the former Sarah Faulconer. Oscar and Sarah had married in 1859 and had a daughter together, Laura Lee. In due course Sarah's dalliance with Tom Pulliam became known to Oscar Mastin, who sued for divorce on the grounds of adultery. Sarah married Tom in June 1869; by then their oldest son was a year old. A second son, George, was born in 1872. Third was Judson Hammond Pulliam, born in February 1876. Sarah's youngest son, William Jefferson Pulliam, was born three years after her husband's death.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By May 1864 the peccadilloes of Tom Dick Pulliam did not loom large in the life of Catherine Tapp. The Union Army, twice the size of Lee's still divided forces, came pouring into Orange and Spotsylvania on May 4. By May 6 General Lee had set up his headquarters at the Tapp farm, trying to buy time until Longstreet's Corps could join him and stave off impending disaster. General Hancock's troops appeared at the far end of the Tapp property, with little to stop them from advancing and capturing Lee save for the artillery of William T. Poague. Some of A.P. Hill's men evacuated the Tapp family and shepherded them across the road to the house of Eliza Pulliam. In an interview she gave to National Park Service historian Ralph Happel in 1937, Phenie Tapp recalled how "the bullets struck the dirt around them, kicking up dust like the first drops of a coming storm."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At last the Texas Brigade, the vanguard of Longstreets's long anticipated arrival, came just in time to save the day. What followed next was <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-would-charge-hell-itself.html">one of the most dramatic moments of the Civil War</a>.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Despite the ferocity of the gunfire and cannonading of that day, Catherine Tapp's home and family survived. Her surviving son William came home safely after the war and returned to Culpeper, where he lived until his death in 1876. Thomas and John Pulliam also came home in one piece. John married Melissa Chewning and established his own farm. Tom and Sarah lived with Eliza.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whether Tom Pulliam continued his profligate ways is not known, but I am willing to hazard a guess that he was not a reformed man. In any case, his life came to an abrupt and violent end on 14 January 1876. As reported in The Fredericksburg News: <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Tom Dick Pulliam was lying asleep on a sofa in his house near "Faulkners" when Tom Sutherlin struck him in the head with a piece of spoke timber, which killed him instantly. Cause, an old grudge. Sutherlin escaped. The citizens offer a one hundred dollar reward for him.</i><br /><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; </i>Two weeks later, on 1 February 1876, George Washington Estes Row mentioned Pulliam's demise in a letter written to his fifteen year old cousin, Emma Farish: <i>Tom Dick Pulliam was murdered by Tom Sutherland a week or two ago. They were on a drunk. Sutherland has not been caught - and if you see him catch him as the Governor has offered one hundred dollars reward. Give me half, won't you? </i><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; These were the circumstances in which Phenie Tapp was born and spent her formative years. It is little wonder, then, that the remaining sixty eight years of her life assumed the character that they did. <br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </i>After her grandmother Catherine died in May 1879, Phenie continued to live with her maiden aunt Margaret at the Tapp place. In fact, Phenie would live there for all her long life.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In June 1881 Phenie gave birth to a daughter, Madosha. Father unknown.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On 19 January 1896 Phenie traveled to Washington, D.C. with John C. Stanford, with whom she exchanged wedding vows. Their marital bliss seems to have been of short duration. During a trip to Orange they encountered one of her old flames, Isaac Jones, and all hell broke loose. From the Fredericksburg Daily Star 26 March 1896. Written in the incomparable style of Charles Henry Robey:<br /><br /><i>A Row in Orange</i><br /><i>Two Men Seriously Injured</i><br /><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Isaac Jones, of Spotsylvania, and John C. Stanford, of Fauquier, had an altercation, resulting in a desperate fight, at the house of Mr. Oscar Almond, near Locust Grove, in Orange County, Sunday afternoon about 4:30 o'clock, in which Jones received a pistol ball in his left arm and Stanford's head and face were badly hacked and cut with a grubbing hoe.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Both men are married men. Jones' family living near the Wilderness Store and Stanford's at Elk Run in Fauquier.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>The row was on account of one Phonie Tapp, living near Parker's, in Spotsylvania, a rustic nymph du pave, whose charms seem to have enthralled both of them. She and Jones, it seems, have been friends for the past four or five years, all others being ousted in his favor, until Stanford, an itinerant sewing machine repairer, put in an appearance last fall.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>He must have made a complete conquest of the woman, for she shortly abandoned Jones to follow her new lover.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Jones' rage at being left in the lurch is to have been terrible. He swore vengeance on both of them, and promised to carry it out, should they come in his way.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Stanford and the woman went to Washington, where they claimed to have been married, and came to Orange Sunday to attend some business matters that S. had left unsettled. The woman stopped at Mr. Almond's, while the man went to the home of Constable J. L Morris.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>While he was absent, Jones put in his appearance, and when Stanford returned to Almond's they met and the row occurred. Jones says that after some words Stanford started to draw his pistol on him, and that he used the hoe in self defense.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Stanford's story is that as he approached the house of Almond, Jones came out, and picking up the hoe, cursed and assaulted him. The woman who got the men apart confirms what Stanford says.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Constable Morris who left home on his way to Orange Courthouse at the same time Stanford started for Almond's heard the pistol shots and screams of women.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>He started in the direction of the sound, and met Stanford in an exhausted condition, and smeared with blood.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>He told Constable what had occurred, and asked to be taken to some place where his wounds could be attended to.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Mr. Morris did this and then went to the scene of the affray.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>He found Jones and the woman there. Jones gave him his version of the affair as related above, and said that the intended to follow and kill Stanford. The woman said that but for her he would have overtaken his victim before the Constable met him, and would have surely killed him.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Mr. Morris said he considered Jones's wound very slight, but he thought Stanford was in a bad way. The ball struck Jones' left hand, just breaking the skin and entering the fleshy part of the arm near the elbow. The wounded man wanted the constable to cut the ball out, in order to save him a doctor's bill.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Jones returned home Sunday night to have his wounds attended to, and Stanford and his alleged wife came to Spotsylvania to the home of the woman's mother Monday morning.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>Constable Morris reported the matter to the Orange authorities Monday and the proper steps were taken to have the parties brought to justice.&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><i>The people in the vicinity are very indignant at the occurrence and there seems to be a strong sentiment in favor of dealing severely with the law breakers.&nbsp;</i><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; The phrase "nymph du pave" was unfamiliar to me, so I looked it up. Of the various definitions offered, my favorite is "a woman of extinguished morality." It should be noted here that at the time of this altercation, Isaac Jones was sixty years old.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; It is also worth noting that during this entire episode John Coffey Stanford was still legally married to Isabella, his wife of thirty three years whom he abandoned in Fauquier County in the early 1890s. A month after Stanford's showdown with Jones, John and Isabella mutually sued each other for divorce on the basis of desertion. A divorce decree was in due course granted to Isabella Stanford.&nbsp; <br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; A year after that violent competition for the affection of Phenie Tapp, a child, Mary Catherine, joined the Tapp household. On the 1900 census she is designated as Phenie's adopted daughter, leading some to speculate that&nbsp; she was actually the daughter of Madosha. In any case, the identity of the father is unknown.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Phenie's escapades next made the news in this brief piece in the 12 July 1902 edition of the <i>Free Lance</i>:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ch_otBqjxHA/VCbpog-3iWI/AAAAAAAAn8M/8FNNVZ01OLM/s1600/fl12jul1902.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ch_otBqjxHA/VCbpog-3iWI/AAAAAAAAn8M/8FNNVZ01OLM/s1600/fl12jul1902.png" /></a></div><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The article does not spell out what offense Phenie and Jack had committed, but circumstantial evidence leads me to conclude that Andrew Jackson Banks, who was black, enjoyed a relationship with Phenie beyond that of his employment as her "hired hand," as he is noted in subsequent censuses. Phenie and Jack lived together for the next forty years.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By 1910 Madosha had evidently married a James Oaks, whose occupation is variously given as "woodchopper" or "tie getter," which I presume meant someone who hauled railroad ties. After 1910 Madosha and James vanish from the written record, as far as I can see.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mary Catherine Tapp married Frederick Thomas Hicks on 4 January 1917. They lived with Phenie for a time before moving to Richmond, where they raised six children. Mary Catherine died in 1935; Fred outlived her by nineteen years. They are buried in the Hicks cemetery in Spotsylvania:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gI7Thj4vQ-k/VCbrhVplhGI/AAAAAAAAn8U/_iDcsOabjvM/s1600/hicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gI7Thj4vQ-k/VCbrhVplhGI/AAAAAAAAn8U/_iDcsOabjvM/s1600/hicks.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Phenie Tapp was an undisguised foe of Prohibition and she and Jack Banks supplemented their income by distilling and selling moonshine. This brought unwelcome attention from Revenue agents from time to time, but I find no record that they did any serious jail time for their efforts.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the 1930s historian Douglas Southall Freeman unsuccessfully attempted to buy the Tapp farm in order to preserve it, "but found Phenie eccentric, the title clouded and funds hard to raise." [<i>The Wilderness Campaign</i>, edited by Gary W. Gallagher. University of North Carolina Press, 1997, p. 194]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By the end of her life Phenie was living in the third house that had been built on the property, the original log cabin in which she had been born having long since decayed to ruin.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Eighty four year old Eliza Frances Tapp died on 31 May 1944 at the home of Calvin Macrae Jones, the son of her one time beau and a handy man with a grubbing hoe, Isaac Jones. From <i>The Free Lance Star </i>2 June 1944: <br /><br /><i>Mrs. Phenie Tapp Dies at Wilderness</i><br /><br /><i>Mrs. Phenie Frances Tapp, 84, of the Parker neighborhood in Spotsylvania, died at the home of Calvin Jones at Wilderness.</i><br /><br /><i>Long a picturesque character Mrs. Tapp had an intimate knowledge of the famous battle of the Wilderness, fought over the section where she lived in 1864. She was four years old at the time of the great battle and was a granddaughter to the famous Widow Tapp, on whose farm General Lee had his headquarters and who is often referred to in accounts of the fighting. </i><br /><br /><i>Funeral services for Mrs. Tapp will be conducted be conducted at the grave at Oak Hill Cemetery at 3 o'clock Saturday.&nbsp;</i><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; A stone for both Phenie and Madosha stands at Oak Hill:<i> </i><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uw6cQozQbmo/VCbuRQrTa6I/AAAAAAAAn8c/K6Kq33ghXCw/s1600/PhenieMadosha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uw6cQozQbmo/VCbuRQrTa6I/AAAAAAAAn8c/K6Kq33ghXCw/s1600/PhenieMadosha.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lbV6MlClU5E/VCbugkWpXKI/AAAAAAAAn8k/sECFpzMNUZw/s1600/FL%2B10%2BJan%2B1950.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lbV6MlClU5E/VCbugkWpXKI/AAAAAAAAn8k/sECFpzMNUZw/s1600/FL%2B10%2BJan%2B1950.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Free Lance Star </i>10 January 1950</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Six years after Phenie's death, the Tapp farm was offered for sale by her second cousin Elsie Davenport. At some point a portion of the property was acquired by Dr. Allan Mowry Giddings on behalf of the Civil War Round Table of Battle Creek, Michigan. This parcel he donated to the National Park Service in 1963. An additional fifty three acres was bought by the Park Service 1968-1972.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I wish to acknowledge the following persons whose help made possible today's post: Diane Ballman of the Central Rappahannock Heritage Center; historian Eric Mink of the Fredericksburg &amp; Spotsylvania National Military Park; and my friends and fellow researchers Wil Bowler and Tom Myers. Many thanks to each of you. Any errors in this piece are mine alone. <br /><br /><br /><br /><i> </i><br /><i> </i><br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-world-according-to-phenie-tapp.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-1415960743511232178Sat, 30 Aug 2014 12:15:00 +00002014-08-30T08:15:32.740-04:00William Lee Kent<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AY-UHy320gs/VAGkph7qHOI/AAAAAAAAn24/itqID9-WfZw/s1600/willie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AY-UHy320gs/VAGkph7qHOI/AAAAAAAAn24/itqID9-WfZw/s1600/willie.jpg" height="320" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Lee Kent</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When William Lee "Willie" Kent was born, his father was far away, fighting with the Confederate army. His experiences, even though often marked by tragedy, are emblematic of what life was once like in old Spotsylvania. His granddaughter Kathleen, who knew him during the last twenty two years&nbsp; of his life and even lived with him for a time as a young girl, carefully wrote down the stories he used to tell her and has spent much of her adult life researching the lives of the families that were once prominent in western Spotsylvania. Because of the time she spent with her grandfather, Kathleen is a living link to one hundred fifty two years of history. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pn6bL1Ia7zU/VAGm5ykE1pI/AAAAAAAAn3E/X01zuVly54Y/s1600/map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pn6bL1Ia7zU/VAGm5ykE1pI/AAAAAAAAn3E/X01zuVly54Y/s1600/map.jpg" height="320" width="295" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Spotsylvania, 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William, born on 10 August 1862, was the son of John Wesley Kent and Martha Catherine Hicks. John was born in Fluvanna County on 1 February 1840 and accompanied his family when they moved to Spotsylvania in 1852. His parents, Warner and Susan Kent, rented a 300 acre farm which they named The Oaks, located adjacent to Hazel Hill. In the map detail above, the Kent place is seen in the center of the image, just south of Todd's post office. This property, which was purchased outright by Warner Kent in 1861, was located between modern Mill Pond and Catharpin Roads.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before the Civil War, John Wesley Kent helped his father farm The Oaks and taught at the neighborhood school at Hazel Hill. He was also a member of the Fredericksburg militia.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-REV6V6q-jF8/VAGo5FxOwnI/AAAAAAAAn3Q/O0qomCIxxdU/s1600/Martha%2BCatherine%2BHicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-REV6V6q-jF8/VAGo5FxOwnI/AAAAAAAAn3Q/O0qomCIxxdU/s1600/Martha%2BCatherine%2BHicks.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martha Catherine Hicks</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On Valentine's Day 1861 John W. Kent married Martha Catherine Hicks, whose family's farm can be seen on the map just southwest of the Kents. Just over a year later their lives would be changed forever.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On 13 March 1862 John, together with his brother Samuel Rice Kent (also born in Fluvanna, in 1841), enlisted in John F. Alexander's Company of Virginia Artillery. Just three months later the remnants of this battery were incorporated into Company M of the 55th Virginia Infantry. John Kent served with this regiment for the remainder of the war. For his brother Samuel, it would be a different story.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just seven weeks after enlisting in Alexander's Artillery, Samuel Kent was taken to the hospital, suffering first with measles and then with pneumonia. Word of his dire predicament was taken to his father, who hitched up a team to his wagon and drove to the hospital. Warner brought him home to be cared for for by himself and Susan. Their efforts were unavailing, however, and Samuel Kent died on 5 May 1862.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the last months of her pregnancy, Martha Kent had returned to the Hicks farm in anticipation of the birth of her first child. She and William stayed there for his first year, but ultimately moved back to The Oaks. Meanwhile, for the next three years John W. Kent and the 55th Virginia fought in many engagements, including the Seven Days' Battle, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign and the trenches of Petersburg.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the battle of the Wilderness, The Oaks was ransacked at least twice by Union soldiers. Warner was arrested by Federal troops and hauled off the the Old Capitol Prison as "a suspicious character." The tribulations of the Kent family during the Civil War are well documented and I describe their experience in great detail <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-will-do-no-act-hostile-to-union-of.html">here</a>.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just prior to the final vandalizing of the Kent farm, Warner's family was escorted to the farm of John G. Hurkamp for their own safety by a squadron commanded by a Union lieutenant. The children were placed on the horses of Federal troopers for the ride. Two year old William Kent rode with the lieutenant.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John Wesley Kent was captured at Harper's farm during the battle of Sayler's Creek on 6 April 1865. From there he was taken to City Point and thence to the Union prison at Point Lookout, Maryland. Here he remained incarcerated until 8 June 1865 when he and other prisoners on the sick list took the oath of allegiance and were paroled. John returned home to Spotsylvania, "broken in body and spirit."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John would father two more children with Martha. Ella Jackson Kent was born in 1866. Her sister Effie Ann was born in August 1867, but John Wesley Kent would not live to see her. Despite the best care possible from Dr. Thomas W. Finney, John departed this life on 5 January 1867.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After his death Martha took William and Ella back to the Hicks farm and awaited the birth of Effie. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On a hot July day in 1869, two year old Effie watched as twelve year old Columbus Kent, William's uncle, worked in the truck garden by the creek. Instead of walking back to the house to drink from the well, the thirsty children drank from the creek. Columbus and Effie Kent died of cholera within days of each other.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The 1870 census shows that William continued to live with his grandparents at The Oaks; Martha and Ella were living with the Hicks family. Susan Kent gave her grandson his introduction to education before he attended an organized school. By the time he was seven, William could read from the Bible, do simple arithmetic and write legibly. Susan taught him the rudiments of American history. The senior Kents - being devout Baptists and members of Wilderness Baptist Church - included moral and religious instruction as part of William's upbringing. Warner taught him practical lessons, including how to make a living out of farming.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the 1870s there were no public schools in Spotsylvania as we know them today. School would be held at someone's house, and neighbors would pool their resources to hire a school master. At the age of seven William Lee Kent began his formal schooling at Hazel Hill, where his teachers were Nannie Harris and Bunny Buchanan. His third year was spent at the one room school at Finchville, where he was taught by Miss Ella Rico. Melvin Duval oversaw Williams fourth year of learning at "Poole's Gate,", the school at the home of neighbor Alfred Poole. His fifth and final year of formal education was provided by Samuel Estes at Meadow Hill.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qDx8vsfcxyo/VAGzJDZI9-I/AAAAAAAAn3g/K_ZE5eDsK4Y/s1600/sarah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qDx8vsfcxyo/VAGzJDZI9-I/AAAAAAAAn3g/K_ZE5eDsK4Y/s1600/sarah.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah Catherine Kent</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; His schooling now finished, William worked on his grandfather's farm as well as other endeavors, such as laboring at <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-saw-mills-of-george-we-row.html">the sawmill of George Washington Estes Row</a>. William made a little extra money by hauling railroad ties to the Potomac, Fredericksburg and Piedmont Railroad. His route routinely took him past the farm of Edward Perry. There he would often see Perry's tall, slender daughter Sarah in the yard or the garden. Over time he worked up the courage to speak to her and introduce himself. On 10 July 1882 they took the train from Fredericksburg to Washington, D.C. where they were married. At the conclusion of the ceremony they took the train back to Fredericksburg, where they retrieved their horse and buggy from the livery and rode back to The Oaks.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ahWDS8SlAv8/VAG0ftfemxI/AAAAAAAAn3s/nP-YG2hVX08/s1600/kent%2Bplace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ahWDS8SlAv8/VAG0ftfemxI/AAAAAAAAn3s/nP-YG2hVX08/s1600/kent%2Bplace.jpg" height="313" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kent home, 1940s</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Warner Kent divided The Oaks between his only surviving son, William "Billy" Kent and his grandson William. Billy Kent built a new house on his section of the farm where he raised his family (which included my grandmother). William and Sarah lived in the main house, where they raised nine children. Warner and Susan Kent moved to the guest quarters over the carriage house.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pFU_cvWjjOQ/VAG1mrE60mI/AAAAAAAAn30/dRUMzo60gAM/s1600/Shady%2BGrove%2B1934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pFU_cvWjjOQ/VAG1mrE60mI/AAAAAAAAn30/dRUMzo60gAM/s1600/Shady%2BGrove%2B1934.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shady Grove, 1934</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William was baptized at Shady Grove Methodist Church in 1883 and remained a devoted member for the rest of his life. Sarah attended services with him there, but never gave up her membership at Salem Baptist Church. In 1941 Shady Grove published a brief history of the church. In the introduction, they gave much credit to William for sharing his extensive knowledge of its past.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rvSz5aXFQ9Y/VAG2aiula6I/AAAAAAAAn38/xsTAMSHcVDU/s1600/sghistory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rvSz5aXFQ9Y/VAG2aiula6I/AAAAAAAAn38/xsTAMSHcVDU/s1600/sghistory.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the history of Shady Grove</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William's mother Martha married a second time in 1876, to a Spotsylvania farmer coincidentally named John Wesley Wright and raised four children with him. Ella Kent, William's only surviving sister, died on 15 July 1887:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QVFJmPz_UM8/VAG3BRafo7I/AAAAAAAAn4I/7Frqg6P9q6I/s1600/FL%2B19%2BJul%2B1887%2BElla%2BKent.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QVFJmPz_UM8/VAG3BRafo7I/AAAAAAAAn4I/7Frqg6P9q6I/s1600/FL%2B19%2BJul%2B1887%2BElla%2BKent.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Free Lance</i> 19 July 1887</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William's grandmother Susan died in 1892; Warner continued to live in the place over the carriage house. In early November 1906, 95 year old Warner Kent was one day attempting to put wood into his fireplace. He lost his balance and fell into the fire. Warner cried out for help and William rushed into the room, finding his grandfather backing away from the fireplace with his nightshirt on fire. Willie used his bare hands to put the fire out, badly burning himself in the process. William would recover from his injuries, but Warner would not. He died on 9 November 1906.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In addition to raising nine children and helping on the farm, Sarah Kent also ran a small general store at The Oaks. It was known to the locals as "Miss Sarah's Store." She kept on hand items that people would normally have to drive to Fredericksburg for: dry goods, sewing notions coffee, tea, sugar, writing paper, ink, pencils etc.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1905 Sarah was diagnosed with skin cancer, which began as a mole on the left side of her face. She took a two year course of treatment at Kellam Hospital in Richmond. When it became apparent that nothing else could be done for her, she was given a bottle of morphine pills and sent home. The cancer continued its progression, until the bone was exposed from her hairline to her mouth. Whenever the pain became unbearable, she would go into the parlor, close the door behind her and scream. Sarah Kent died on 30 March 1912 and was buried at Shady Grove.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WejuvYpS74M/VAG6eruOCXI/AAAAAAAAn4U/Jic6sT8u6mI/s1600/willie%2Band%2Bgrandkids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WejuvYpS74M/VAG6eruOCXI/AAAAAAAAn4U/Jic6sT8u6mI/s1600/willie%2Band%2Bgrandkids.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Kent and grandchildren</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As William grew into old age, he was well loved by his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. In the photograph above, his granddaughter Kathleen has her feet on his shoulders.<br />Below, William is seated between Kathleen and her brother Edward:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PL1xcycfA2s/VAG7HukVFgI/AAAAAAAAn4c/2Q7JmXpw6fk/s1600/Willie%2BKent%2Bwith%2BKathleen%2BPayne%2BColvin%2B(seated%2Bright).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PL1xcycfA2s/VAG7HukVFgI/AAAAAAAAn4c/2Q7JmXpw6fk/s1600/Willie%2BKent%2Bwith%2BKathleen%2BPayne%2BColvin%2B(seated%2Bright).jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Lee Kent </td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William kept his luxuriant moustache his entire life and still cut a dapper figure well into his eighties:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zjVg2xCOnkA/VAG7rsIzDVI/AAAAAAAAn4k/wTTyUqqlvfw/s1600/kentatporch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zjVg2xCOnkA/VAG7rsIzDVI/AAAAAAAAn4k/wTTyUqqlvfw/s1600/kentatporch.jpg" height="320" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Lee Kent</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the 1940s William's birthdays would be marked by large gatherings of relatives at his house, like this one from 1941:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdN7zk-Hbbo/VAG8JEB4lyI/AAAAAAAAn4s/ANJxtLyabFc/s1600/Kent%2Breunion%2B1941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vdN7zk-Hbbo/VAG8JEB4lyI/AAAAAAAAn4s/ANJxtLyabFc/s1600/Kent%2Breunion%2B1941.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Near the end of his life William visited Sarah's grave at Shady Grove:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yK5fVUaddfI/VAG8iTt1MxI/AAAAAAAAn40/pZ9lhmxd6qQ/s1600/Willie%2BKent%2B%26%2Bstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yK5fVUaddfI/VAG8iTt1MxI/AAAAAAAAn40/pZ9lhmxd6qQ/s1600/Willie%2BKent%2B%26%2Bstone.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William Lee Kent died on 12 March 1949. He is buried next to Sarah.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5Sh8zZWzaw/VAG88lb7O3I/AAAAAAAAn48/-jbb45qBTUs/s1600/williesarahstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5Sh8zZWzaw/VAG88lb7O3I/AAAAAAAAn48/-jbb45qBTUs/s1600/williesarahstone.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/08/william-lee-kent.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-9078472608875669657Fri, 22 Aug 2014 16:57:00 +00002014-08-22T12:57:03.673-04:00The Haunted Mind of Sam Ford<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iJc4RMG6U6g/U_dmEf0_W6I/AAAAAAAAn14/FROmTYr7F_A/s1600/Page%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iJc4RMG6U6g/U_dmEf0_W6I/AAAAAAAAn14/FROmTYr7F_A/s1600/Page%2B2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Spotsylvania, 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By the time he was ten years old, he was no longer with living with his parents and brothers. Instead, it appears that he had been sent to live with his grandparents. Under most circumstances, this would not mean much. But in Sam's case it was an ominous portent of trouble to come. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Samuel Murray Ford, the youngest son of Adolphus Ford and Lizzie Young, was born in Spotsylvania on 22 February 1890. Sam and his three older brothers - Anthews, Charles and John - came from good stock. Their families had been part of the county's small community of free blacks before the Civil War. Lizzie Young's brothers, Humphrey and Atwell, served the Confederate cause. For those of you who may not have already read my earlier post about Spotsylvania's free blacks and would like to do so, click <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/12/atwell-young-black-confederate.html">here</a>.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whether by death or by separation, Lizzie and Adolphus were no longer married in 1898. That year Lizzie married Othey Woodward and she remained with him for the rest of her life. In 1900 she, Othey and the three oldest sons were living together in one household. Sam Ford was living with his grandparents, Humphrey and Mary Young.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Youngs lived on the farm that Humphrey grew up on. Located on Catharpin Road just southeast of modern Ni River Middle School, their property can be seen in the map above. At the upper center of the image the farm is designated as "Young FN" (Free Negro).<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the Civil War Humphrey Young worked as a teamster for the Confederate army. An 1862 receipt for this effort is shown below. Humphrey's mark was witnessed by Brigadier General John G. Walker. Note the "FN" next to Humphrey's name at the top of the page:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3bx8VyK4668/U_dq6pmD4SI/AAAAAAAAn2I/w-DSQeVdN4c/s1600/f73df708-16ab-48dc-be41-4bad5639aef4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3bx8VyK4668/U_dq6pmD4SI/AAAAAAAAn2I/w-DSQeVdN4c/s1600/f73df708-16ab-48dc-be41-4bad5639aef4.jpg" height="320" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Receipt to Humphrey Young</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During the war Humphrey served as the body servant to Captain William Augustine Smith, adjutant to General Walker. After the war Humphrey and Mary raised a large family at the farm on Catharpin Road. In his later years Humphrey Young established a reputation as a groom in Fredericksburg:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wiTgv_-ZAIY/U_dr-u6mo7I/AAAAAAAAn2Q/OUF5KSOoXWc/s1600/fb7d2c63-a16e-478b-81c5-5edd5668d0cd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wiTgv_-ZAIY/U_dr-u6mo7I/AAAAAAAAn2Q/OUF5KSOoXWc/s1600/fb7d2c63-a16e-478b-81c5-5edd5668d0cd.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Daily Star </i>26 October 1906</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; So, given the fact that Sam Ford's family was among the best in the county, how do we explain how he turned out as an adult? We will return to that in a moment. But first we must get Sam married.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; On 5 December 1911 Sam took as his bride nineteen year old Sarah Comfort. Like Sam, Sarah descended from free blacks. Her father Richard Poindexter "Deck" Comfort (1862-1931) worked for&nbsp;<a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-saw-mills-of-george-we-row.html">my great grandfather's saw mill business</a>. In January 1928 Deck Comfort dug the grave of my great grandmother, Lizzie Houston Row.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aXlK52AEOQk/U_dtdJT0roI/AAAAAAAAn2c/Xpoi0gH6afk/s1600/e559d2c8-ed9f-4fd6-982d-8fc4673abb76.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aXlK52AEOQk/U_dtdJT0roI/AAAAAAAAn2c/Xpoi0gH6afk/s1600/e559d2c8-ed9f-4fd6-982d-8fc4673abb76.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horace Row's receipt to Deck Comfort</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Before we return to the bizarre world of Sam Ford, we will have to meet one more person, Virginia White. During the 1920s Virginia taught in a "colored" school in Stafford, where she boarded with Thomas and Mary Porter, who owned a general store there. By 1930 Virginia was teaching in Spotsylvania and boarding with Sam and Sarah at the Young-Ford farm.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whether Sam and Virginia knew each other before that time I cannot say. As to the sleeping arrangements at the old farm house, we can only speculate.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But from that time forward the life of Sarah Ford became a living nightmare. What you are about to read may shock some of you. They are the recollections of my eighty seven year old cousin Kathleen, who still lives a mile from the old Ford place.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sarah was required to do the plowing in the field in front of the house. Some believed that at times Sam made her take the place of the mule. Sam would sit on the porch, taking his ease, while she worked. During the heat of the day, when his throat would get a little dry, Sam would call down to Sarah to go the well and fetch him some water. Then she would resume her plowing.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When Spotsylvania was still an agrarian county, farmers - black and white - would help each other when needed. Sam would often volunteer when heavy work needed to be done at a neighbor's. He would bring Sarah with him. Sarah would do the work while Sam stood over her, urging her along. When she was finished, Sam held out his hand for the money she earned.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kathleen remembers Sarah Ford taking in laundry for her family when her mother was sick. When the clothes were ready Sam Ford was on hand to collect his pay.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sam Ford called Virginia White "his Queen." Kathleen remembers that Sam had taken the top off his touring car. Virginia sat up front with him; Sarah was obliged to stand up in the back. While Sam drove, he held a whip as if driving a team of horses. For his own amusement he performed sudden starts and stops, flinging Sarah about. He would laugh "uproariously."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Over time, Sam Ford's drinking also became the talk of the neighborhood. However, when he killed a woman in 1959 alcohol apparently played no part, as he received an extraordinarily light sentence:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ck6baIe2N1o/U_dxg_hrBSI/AAAAAAAAn2o/2JrptEliO4o/s1600/FLS%2B6%2BApr%2B1960.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ck6baIe2N1o/U_dxg_hrBSI/AAAAAAAAn2o/2JrptEliO4o/s1600/FLS%2B6%2BApr%2B1960.png" height="320" width="141" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Free Lance Star </i>6 April 1960</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pauline Thompson and her husband at that time owned what had been known for years as Parker's Store on Brock Road. Pauline had been appointed postmistress there in 1956 after Graf and Lucy Parker retired.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fifty years ago we used to pass by Sam Ford's place on our way to my grandmother's house. By then he had moved out of the farm house and was living in a shack on Catharpin Road. My parents told my sister and me he was a drunk and that we should be afraid of him.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thirty years ago, in an attempt to escape the urban sprawl marching west down Route 3, my father bought some acreage just off Catharpin Road. This had been part of the Young-Ford farm and my father built a house on the site of Humphrey Young's old farm house. Today it is the home of my sister.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Years ago Sam Ford's granddaughter came to visit my sister and see her family's old home place. During the course of their visit she told Anne that Sam Ford had moved out of the old farm house to the shack on Catharpin for a very good reason. He was being haunted by the spirit of Sarah Comfort Ford.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A little way into the woods near my sister's house is the trash dump of Sam Ford. Over time Anne has excavated a portion of it. The primary relics recovered there include vintage whiskey bottles and the rusted remains of a rifle. Poking through this detritus is the steering wheel of a car. At the bottom of the pit lies the old touring car of Sam Ford. <br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-haunted-mind-of-sam-ford.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-2000733766207035810Sat, 26 Jul 2014 16:48:00 +00002014-07-26T12:48:10.487-04:00Middleton Chambers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gIfyD926Aa8/U9PCzYVGvcI/AAAAAAAAn08/bOmgdJvsYk8/s1600/middletonc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gIfyD926Aa8/U9PCzYVGvcI/AAAAAAAAn08/bOmgdJvsYk8/s1600/middletonc.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Middleton Chambers</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Born into the most inauspicious of circumstances, his life thereafter was one of great promise. His talent led him to the sunny uplands of the realization of his artistic ambitions. He came so close.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is the story of my cousin, Middleton Chambers. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Middleton was born 30 April 1888 in Lynchburg, Virginia. His mother was Mary Josephine "Jo" Williams, the oldest surviving daughter of <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/james-t-williams.html">James Tompkins Williams</a> and <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/martha-row-williams.html">Martha Row Williams</a>. His father was William Archer Chambers, a well known Lynchburg tobacconist and merchandise broker. William was also an 1881 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But Middleton's birth was a complicated one, and things did not go well for Jo Chambers, who died on 30 May 1888. Her father wrote of this tragic turn of events just two weeks later, on 16 June, in a letter to his one time sister in law (James T. Williams's first wife Martha had died in 1885), Nan Row of Spotsylvania:<br /><br /><i>In regard to the death of Jo...it was a great shock to us. Altho she had been in a dangerous condition we were hopeful of her recovery until the day on which she died. Her child was very large and its birth was the cause of her death. She had the best of Doctors and Mary (my wife)</i> <i>nursed her just like her own mother would have done if she had been alive...Next to the death of your sister her death was the hardest blow I ever had and at first I felt like I could not stand it.</i> <i>She had been so much to me and was one of the sweetest best women that ever lived...</i><br /><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; </i>Three years after Jo's death William Archer Chambers married Rosa Hughes and in 1893 they had their own son, William Jr.<br /><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </i>The following year, in July 1894, James T. Williams and his wife, the former Mary Hanvey Martin, petitioned the court in order to adopt six year old Middleton. W.A. Chambers readily agreed to the adoption. What the circumstances may have been that would have led to this change of custody, I do not know. But it was certainly a lucky break for Middleton; his grandfather was one of the richest and most influential men in Lynchburg. Every opportunity that wealth could provide was now available for Middleton. It would prove to be money well spent.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By the time James T. Williams died in 1900, Middleton Chambers was living in Burlington, New Jersey in the home of his teacher, William F. Overman, principal of Moorestown Academy.&nbsp; After returning to Virginia, Middleton enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute, from which he graduated in 1908. His portrait at the top of today's post, and this humorous profile typical of the cadets are from the 1908 edition of VMI's The Bomb:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b0mQko7Vveg/U9PQj0AEKKI/AAAAAAAAn1I/fGNVZ5dhKn8/s1600/MC+1908.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b0mQko7Vveg/U9PQj0AEKKI/AAAAAAAAn1I/fGNVZ5dhKn8/s1600/MC+1908.png" height="320" width="308" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While a student in Lexington, Middleton was already showing what he could do as an artist, and in the years that followed he successfully hitched his ability to his ambition. This entry from the St. Louis Art Catalog of 1915 reveals the extensive education he received in the years leading up to World War I:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OI0o7Z9oq30/U9PRx2Eu1fI/AAAAAAAAn1Q/d1wGcLDg_d4/s1600/St.+Louis+art+catalog.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OI0o7Z9oq30/U9PRx2Eu1fI/AAAAAAAAn1Q/d1wGcLDg_d4/s1600/St.+Louis+art+catalog.png" height="74" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From 1911 to 1914 Middleton lived, studied and painted in Europe. At one point he met artist Waldo David Frank and they bicycled from Paris to the Bavarian Alps. In his book,&nbsp; <i>Memoirs of Waldo Frank</i>, University of Massachusetts Press (1973), the author described Middleton as having "a dry wit and a high sense of the ridiculous...whose sole passion was painting." In one amusing episode, Waldo and Middleton stayed in a village in Bavaria, where they taught the locals how to dance the Charleston. For this good deed they were arrested by the constable for teaching "lewd and obscene dances." Their confinement was very brief, due in no small part to their popularity among the villagers.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When war broke out in August 1914, Middleton made his way to Le Havre by November and returned to the United States. Due to the unexpectedly rapid escalation of the conflict, Middleton was obliged to leave all his artwork in Europe.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For the next few years Middleton lived in New York and continued to work as a painter. When America entered the war in 1917, Middleton enlisted in the army and trained as a pilot, although for reasons not stated he never flew in combat (Ancestry):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h2YYeyj8J0M/U9PXOk94ThI/AAAAAAAAn1g/AJmS33kDYhE/s1600/40808_1120704930_0107-00391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h2YYeyj8J0M/U9PXOk94ThI/AAAAAAAAn1g/AJmS33kDYhE/s1600/40808_1120704930_0107-00391.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the end of the war, Middleton laid plans to return to Europe. On 24 February 1919 he applied for a new passport. His stated intention was to resume his studies and retrieve his paintings. This brooding portrait is from his passport application (Ancestry):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jHEFcbm-Nas/U9PYI5F7xLI/AAAAAAAAn1o/9A-lKiRLn_M/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-07-16+at+12.07.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jHEFcbm-Nas/U9PYI5F7xLI/AAAAAAAAn1o/9A-lKiRLn_M/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-07-16+at+12.07.48+AM.png" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He never made the voyage back to Europe.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By now the influenza epidemic was sweeping through New York. And Middleton was swept up with it. On 8 March 1919, just two weeks after applying for his passport, Middleton Chambers died of pneumonia.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His body was brought home to Lynchburg, and Middleton was buried in Presbyterian Cemetery near his mother.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/07/middleton-chambers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-1927275786462891896Thu, 10 Jul 2014 07:47:00 +00002014-08-03T04:55:29.493-04:00Benjamin Bowering Rediscovered<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HixTrMuJGYs/U73DdYx0-NI/AAAAAAAAnx4/VH-MWwTsXUQ/s1600/img122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HixTrMuJGYs/U73DdYx0-NI/AAAAAAAAnx4/VH-MWwTsXUQ/s1600/img122.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Benjamin Bowering letter to Lizzie Houston Row, 10 June 1884</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The roster of names of Fredericksburg's leading citizens, who strode across history's stage during the last half of the nineteenth century, is long and distinguished. Sadly, their stories are often only half-remembered, the patina of their accomplishments obscured by the fine dust of time. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Today I hope to remedy that obscurity for one such man, Benjamin Bowering.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For reasons which will become evident at the end of today's post, I have for the last week or so been combing through the historical record to learn all I can about this able man who helped transform Fredericksburg and whose handiwork was utilized throughout the region.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Benjamin's story, and that of his accomplished son Andrew, is one of compelling interest and the many contributions he made to his adopted country and city are worth remembering.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Benjamin Bowering was born in Trowbridge, England in November 1819. Named for his father, a carpenter born in 1795, young Benjamin accompanied his family on their voyage to America and settled in Paterson, New Jersey. In that city the junior Bowering met Lucinda Voorhees (born in August 1822), whom he married in September 1841.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; About Benjamin's life in New Jersey I know very little, save for the fact that his only child, Andrew Benjamin Bowering, was born there on 6 August 1842.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; In 1849 Bowering and his family moved to Fredericksburg, where for the next fifty four years he would make the highest use of the talents he brought with him.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Located at the intersection of Princess Anne and Charlotte Streets, Hope Foundry was owned in the late 1840s by a partnership of three men: John H. Roberts, John Francis Scott and John H. Herndon. In 1849 they made the smartest business decision of their lives when they hired Benjamin Bowering as the foundry's manager.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; By May 1851 Mr. Roberts sold his interest to the remaining two partners, who published this advertisement in the 2 May 1851 edition of the <i>Fredericksburg News</i>:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BeVNT3kNWUU/U74q07_bcxI/AAAAAAAAnyI/IHCb2x99WZ0/s1600/FN+2+May+1851.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BeVNT3kNWUU/U74q07_bcxI/AAAAAAAAnyI/IHCb2x99WZ0/s1600/FN+2+May+1851.png" height="320" width="184" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HpJCSoMId10/U74q--gEq5I/AAAAAAAAnyQ/ZM9-MNyQjkQ/s1600/FN+2+May+1851-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HpJCSoMId10/U74q--gEq5I/AAAAAAAAnyQ/ZM9-MNyQjkQ/s1600/FN+2+May+1851-2.png" height="320" width="190" /></a></div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8Rdvn7UUSY/U74rEid7TVI/AAAAAAAAnyY/b3QLpDblLGw/s1600/FN+2+May+1851-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8Rdvn7UUSY/U74rEid7TVI/AAAAAAAAnyY/b3QLpDblLGw/s1600/FN+2+May+1851-3.png" height="253" width="320" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The partnership of Scott &amp; Herndon operated Hope Foundry until 1857, when John F. Scott bought out Mr. Herndon's interest. Scott would operate the business as its sole proprietor until the end of the Civil War. Wisely, he retained the services of his master machinist and superintendent, Benjamin Bowering.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The advertisement shown below, published on the eve of Virginia's secession and the onset of war, announced - with misplaced optimism - the variety of machines manufactured at the foundry which were available for purchase by the public. Soon enough, however, the foundry's sole customer would be the Confederate army.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XzSyKP6ucR4/U74tS_n5ZcI/AAAAAAAAnyk/XPHtEQ_oGYw/s1600/FN+29+Jan+1861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XzSyKP6ucR4/U74tS_n5ZcI/AAAAAAAAnyk/XPHtEQ_oGYw/s1600/FN+29+Jan+1861.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fredericksburg News </i>29 January 1861</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As early as June 1861 John F. Scott was manufacturing and repairing artillery equipment for the Confederate army, and this would account for most of his business for the next three and a half years. In the National Archives can be found dozens of invoices for Scott's work. A few examples are shown here:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QONUAh9rfZA/U74uXRWQKMI/AAAAAAAAnys/20vE9WvR-f4/s1600/Page+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QONUAh9rfZA/U74uXRWQKMI/AAAAAAAAnys/20vE9WvR-f4/s1600/Page+20.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rOYbKqu-SLU/U74ufWkU3XI/AAAAAAAAny0/1JcL1pXWGbg/s1600/Page+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rOYbKqu-SLU/U74ufWkU3XI/AAAAAAAAny0/1JcL1pXWGbg/s1600/Page+22.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-P0qLlOiDw/U74umYOW4hI/AAAAAAAAny8/tv5f34zImIU/s1600/Page+28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-P0qLlOiDw/U74umYOW4hI/AAAAAAAAny8/tv5f34zImIU/s1600/Page+28.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scott's efforts on behalf of the rebellion were interrupted twice during the war. In August 1862 he was among about nineteen male citizens of Fredericksburg who were arrested by Federal troops occupying the town at the time and were taken to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. They were seized as hostages to guarantee the safety of several Unionists who had been arrested by the Confederates and imprisoned in Richmond. After an exchange of letters and the plaintive pleas of those incarcerated in Washington, a solution was found and John F. Scott and the others were released.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scott was arrested a second time when Federal forces occupied Fredericksburg on 2 May 1863. The record shows that the reason given for his arrest was due to the fact that he was "disloyal." He was released on 20 May 1863.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Understandably, Scott made himself scarce in May 1864 when the Union army again took control of the town during the battle of the Wilderness. This time he avoided capture.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Since he did not own the foundry at the time, Benjamin Bowering's name does not appear on any of these Confederate invoices, but he doubtless continued to manage production for Scott during the war. Evidence of this is found in the record of his parole, given at Salisbury, North Carolina after the surrender of General Joseph Johnston on 26 April 1865. He is shown as enlisted in the Virginia Reserves and "detailed at the artillery shops." There was a munitions foundry located at Salisbury, so I assume Benjamin was working there during the latter part of the war.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6HHYyJlBX8Y/U74zgUWyb6I/AAAAAAAAnzM/HyFyV5mt-WM/s1600/bowering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6HHYyJlBX8Y/U74zgUWyb6I/AAAAAAAAnzM/HyFyV5mt-WM/s1600/bowering.jpg" height="320" width="134" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parole of Benjamin Bowering</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Meanwhile, Benjamin Bowering's son Andrew was having his own unique experience during the Civil War. Prior to Virginia's secession, Andrew was a music teacher in Fredericksburg. When hostilities began, Andrew was mustered into the 30th Virginia Infantry, where he led the regimental band. At the funeral of Stonewall Jackson in Richmond in May 1863 Andrew conducted the band in playing music he composed for the occasion, as well as Handel's Dead March from "Saul." <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Andrew Bowering served in the 30th Virginia until Lee's surrender at Appomattox. At that place Andrew blew the final recall of the Army of Northern Virginia. He placed his trumpet on the limb of a tree and walked home to Fredericksburg.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When he arrived there he discovered that his father was in Salisbury. And so he made his way to North Carolina. The Bowerings returned home soon thereafter.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the war Andrew continued to teach music and conducted open air concerts in Fredericksburg. He served as president of the city school board and for almost fifty years was commissioner of revenue. He died in 1923.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reunited once again, John F. Scott and Benjamin Bowering laid plans to reopen Hope Foundry as a commercial enterprise open to the public. This time Benjamin would at long last be a partner in the business.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8G88mp8fuGs/U744AkhMgpI/AAAAAAAAnzY/dJxY4ZNR38g/s1600/FL+1+Dec+1865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8G88mp8fuGs/U744AkhMgpI/AAAAAAAAnzY/dJxY4ZNR38g/s1600/FL+1+Dec+1865.jpg" height="320" width="192" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fredericksburg Ledger </i>1&nbsp; December 1865</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And they remained partners until 6 February 1871, when John Francis Scott died. The index to the historic court records of Fredericksburg indicate that Scott's estate was settled in 1876, and that is when it appears Benjamin acquired sole ownership of Hope Foundry.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For the remainder of his active life, Benjamin was connected to Hope Foundry and its successors. Among the many projects for which he deserves to be remembered:<br /><br />- the manufacture of the court house vault door<br />- the design of the gates of the Confederate cemetery<br />- the manufacture and installation of the vane atop the Baptist Church<br />- the manufacture and installation of the bell of the Presbyterian Church<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jpW54DnDeEo/U7454ay_XEI/AAAAAAAAnzk/vEt-LfUp6T4/s1600/FL+13+Sep+1870-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jpW54DnDeEo/U7454ay_XEI/AAAAAAAAnzk/vEt-LfUp6T4/s1600/FL+13+Sep+1870-2.jpg" height="161" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fredericksburg Ledger </i>13 September 1870</td></tr></tbody></table><br />- the manufacture of all the equipment used in the Germania Mills<br />- the manufacture of the machinery used in the Washington Woolen Mills, of which he was a director<br />- the manufacture of the machinery for the City Electric Light Works.<br />- the manufacture of the steam heating system for the Hotel Dannehl<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Benjamin was also active in the civic life of Fredericksburg and served for years on the city council. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; Benjamin sold Hope Foundry to Charles Tyler of Baltimore in January 1891. The foundry was then renamed the Progress Engine and Machine Works. Benjamin stayed on for a year as manager.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Progress was later named Southern Foundry and at the age of seventy eight Benjamin went back to work for them for a time in 1897.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Benjamin Bowering died at the home of his son on 13 July 1903. He is buried at the Fredericksburg Cemetery.<br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Over the years I have taken a personal interest in Bowering because <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-saw-mills-of-george-we-row.html">my great grandfather</a> had bought from him the steam saw mill and boiler that he used in his lumber business in Spotsylvania. After his untimely death in 1883, his widow wound down his business as the adminstratrix of his estate. In the letter written by Bowering to my great grandmother in May 1884, which appears at the top of today's post, he pledges to help her find a buyer for the mill machinery. The invoice below is among the business papers of Lizzie Houston Row:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Ig2Iwnm7GA/U74-Nqo_jQI/AAAAAAAAnzw/6V_iqkdlzhA/s1600/img920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Ig2Iwnm7GA/U74-Nqo_jQI/AAAAAAAAnzw/6V_iqkdlzhA/s1600/img920.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bowering invoice to Lizzie Row 10 June 1884</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />So what has prompted my renewed interest in Benjamin lately?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Recently an artifact of Benjamin Bowering - a virtual time capsule - was discovered in a tributary of Chopawamsic Creek on the Marine base at Quantico. This was brought to my attention by the base's forester, Ron Moyer, who came across previous mentions of Bowering on Spotsylvania Memory while conducting research. Quantico intends to restore this equipment and display it on the base. The link to Quantico's press release:<br /><br />http://www.quantico.marines.mil/News/NewsArticleDisplay/tabid/10834/Article/166771/1800s-steam-engine-has-tie-to-fredericksburg.aspx<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr. Moyer asked for my assistance in gathering as much information as possible regarding Bowering's work, a task I undertook with great pleasure. Ron Moyer shared with me several photographs of Benjamin Bowering's handiwork and with his permission they appear&nbsp; here today:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbm16yxlJqw/U75BMBj5XfI/AAAAAAAAnz8/IFwie-Fp1OQ/s1600/0_DSC_4934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbm16yxlJqw/U75BMBj5XfI/AAAAAAAAnz8/IFwie-Fp1OQ/s1600/0_DSC_4934.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mIdc0VbXb7E/U75BTHx3TSI/AAAAAAAAn0E/EgYWjj0ap8s/s1600/0_DSC_4941.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mIdc0VbXb7E/U75BTHx3TSI/AAAAAAAAn0E/EgYWjj0ap8s/s1600/0_DSC_4941.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WKE1JjqMAAo/U75BavwbAjI/AAAAAAAAn0M/uSzCwXV7LnQ/s1600/0_IMG_2308a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WKE1JjqMAAo/U75BavwbAjI/AAAAAAAAn0M/uSzCwXV7LnQ/s1600/0_IMG_2308a.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jSnWewIvi7U/U75BgzIfNEI/AAAAAAAAn0U/JJ75cLeXPao/s1600/0_IMG_2321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jSnWewIvi7U/U75BgzIfNEI/AAAAAAAAn0U/JJ75cLeXPao/s1600/0_IMG_2321.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/07/benjamin-bowering-rediscovered.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-3587621824836363957Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:48:00 +00002014-06-26T15:26:14.997-04:00Jehu Williams<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LC1bYgdgEQc/U6xLZITCFzI/AAAAAAAAnv8/rDZ7fEN8N_Y/s1600/img780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LC1bYgdgEQc/U6xLZITCFzI/AAAAAAAAnv8/rDZ7fEN8N_Y/s1600/img780.jpg" height="320" width="181" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jehu Williams</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In about 1720 young David Shion Williams, born in Wales in 1699, boarded one of the many sailing ships plying the Atlantic in those years and sailed west to the New World. He would establish himself in New Castle County, Delaware where he raised his family and lived out his years until his death in 1786. One of David's sons, Jesse, was born there in 1750. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By the 1770s Jesse Williams was living in Baltimore, Maryland, where he married Rachel Gott on November 24, 1774. Less than two years later Jesse would be mustered into service to fight soldiers from his father's native country sent to suppress the rebellion that spread throughout all thirteen colonies. During the American Revolution Jesse Williams would serve in several regiments, as he would be called on to re-enlist after his original term of service expired.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1780 Jesse and Rachel Williams and the first two of their eight children moved to Culpeper County, Virginia. The following year Jesse was again called upon to serve the cause of the Revolution and he enlisted one more time.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Williams family remained in Culpeper until about 1791; at least four of Jesse's and Rachel's children were born there, One of these, Jehu Williams, arrived on October 11, 1788.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From Culpeper the Williams family moved to Orange County and from there to Stafford. It was while living in the latter place, in 1799,&nbsp; that eleven year old Jehu met the family of six year old John Victor (1793-1845). It was this auspicious meeting that transformed the lives of both boys.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Young John Victor was the son of John Victor, Sr. and Sarah Tankersley, who married in Caroline County sometime between 1777 and 1780. Like Jesse Williams, the senior John Victor also served during the Revolution, first as a lieutenant with Baylor's Regiment of Horse and afterwards as an adjutant. It was in this latter capacity that John Victor, Sr. recruited and trained new soldiers in Fredericksburg.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1789 John and Sarah Victor moved from Port Royal to Fredericksburg. Here the former cavalryman gave expression to an entirely different set of talents. Victor, by now an accomplished musician, gave lessons in harpsichord, pianoforte, spinet and guitar. He was also a tuner and repairer of these instruments. He was particularly popular for the concerts he performed in Fredericksburg in the early 1800s. John Victor, Sr. died in 1817.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Jehu Williams and John Victor developed talents of their own, and by 1813 had established themselves in business in Lynchburg. It would be here that Williams &amp; Victor would over the following thirty years achieve a reputation as two of Virginia's most gifted jewelers, silversmiths and clock makers.&nbsp; An advertisement for their business, seen below, was published in "Image of an Age," The Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, 1963.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jhalPKvuHJY/U6xVIk731mI/AAAAAAAAnwM/matIBERxASo/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-06-24+at+12.44.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jhalPKvuHJY/U6xVIk731mI/AAAAAAAAnwM/matIBERxASo/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-06-24+at+12.44.09+PM.png" height="251" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Just four months after the appearance of this notice in the Lynchburg newspaper, Jehu Williams married Hettie Row of Orange County on Christmas Day, 1814. Hettie was the youngest daughter of <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/09/thomas-row.html">Thomas Row</a>, my third great grandfather. Although her name is spelled variously as either Hetty or Hettie, her parents opted for the second spelling, which appears in the record of her birth in her mother's (Rachel Keeling Row) Book of Common Prayer, shown below. (Incidentally, Jehu's younger brother David married married Hettie's older sister Elizabeth in Orange County in 1817).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I-LLbh0kCfI/U6xX5THFtUI/AAAAAAAAnwY/jrFZyVUYBh8/s1600/hettiebirth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I-LLbh0kCfI/U6xX5THFtUI/AAAAAAAAnwY/jrFZyVUYBh8/s1600/hettiebirth.jpg" height="320" width="177" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birth record of Hettie Row</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By this time Jesse Williams and the rest of his family had moved from the Fredericksburg area to Kentucky, ultimately settling in Rockcastle County, which had been founded in 1810. Here the old Revolutionary War veteran would spend the rest of his life. On September 29, 1835, at the age of 84, Jesse Williams died after being kicked by a horse he had been trying to shoe. (Many thanks to Dee Blakeley for this detail of his death. Dee is a direct descendant of Jesse Williams and hosts her own family history blog, which is quite good.)<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jehu's first two children, twins Mary Ann and Sarah Jane, were born on March 3, 1816. Mary Ann lived but three months. Sarah Jane and the other ten children of Jehu Williams would all live to adulthood.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Over the next seven years Hettie gave birth to three more daughters, the last arriving on February 7, 1823. Hettie died just three weeks later on March 3, the birth date of her twins. Her last daughter, whose photo is seen here, was named Hettie Row Williams in her honor.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YnZ-0agjOIw/U6xbB5zkZVI/AAAAAAAAnwk/wfmntv5aKDM/s1600/hettierowwilliams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YnZ-0agjOIw/U6xbB5zkZVI/AAAAAAAAnwk/wfmntv5aKDM/s1600/hettierowwilliams.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hettie Row Williams (1823-1905)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Young Hettie's mother, whom she would never know, is buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg (photo by Darrell Landrum):<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G3J9Cf75GkU/U6xbpPir2wI/AAAAAAAAnws/c7blpaaXsxM/s1600/Hettie+Row+Williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G3J9Cf75GkU/U6xbpPir2wI/AAAAAAAAnws/c7blpaaXsxM/s1600/Hettie+Row+Williams.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hettie Row Williams</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After a decent interval of six months, Jehu Williams married Susannah Sanford Tompkins on September 11, 1823. Susannah was the daughter of Reverend James Tompkins, Lynchburg's first Presbyterian minister, and Mary Hurt. Jehu and Susannah were married by Reverend John Early, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Susannah bore Jehu five more daughters and, at last, two sons. The oldest of these was <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/james-t-williams.html">James Tompkins Williams</a> (1829-1900), named for his grandfather.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrZB72EChd4/U6xdXefcpcI/AAAAAAAAnw4/IbfI5pd8LOQ/s1600/img759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GrZB72EChd4/U6xdXefcpcI/AAAAAAAAnw4/IbfI5pd8LOQ/s1600/img759.jpg" height="320" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Tompkins Williams</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1850 James T. Williams married <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/martha-row-williams.html">Martha Jane Row</a> of Spotsylvania, who was a niece of his father's first wife Hettie. While Martha was no blood relation of James, I always thought it curious that, given his matinee idol good looks and mercantile success, he did not cast a wider net in his quest for a wife.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jehu Williams and John Victor were both artisans of the first rank and generous contributors of their talents to the Lynchburg community. Williams &amp; Victor silver tableware was much in demand during the first half of the nineteenth century and is still highly collectible today. One of their clocks stands in the reconstructed Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg. The mechanisms for their case clocks were imported from England; Jehu and John built the cases. Below are photographs of their handiwork taken by me at the Lynchburg Museum in 2010. The clock has since been relocated to nearby Point of Honor in Lynchburg. The clock I photographed contains the highly accurate Regulator clockworks. This particular clock is believed to have been the shop clock of Williams &amp; Victor and would have been used to set all the other clocks.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbyvXEdhd8g/U6xgYMGW1QI/AAAAAAAAnxE/a_v5TtB_T1I/s1600/IMG_1701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbyvXEdhd8g/U6xgYMGW1QI/AAAAAAAAnxE/a_v5TtB_T1I/s1600/IMG_1701.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Williams &amp; Victor clock, Lynchburg</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ejrVgwGM_8I/U6xgjaFqirI/AAAAAAAAnxM/zAAhm2Kp7u4/s1600/spoons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ejrVgwGM_8I/U6xgjaFqirI/AAAAAAAAnxM/zAAhm2Kp7u4/s1600/spoons.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Williams &amp; Victor silver, Lynchburg Museum</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During his tenure as the mayor of Lynchburg in the 1820s, John Victor engaged the services of Albert Stein, who had built America's first gravity-fed municipal water system in Philadelphia, to design a similar system for Lynchburg. Although the townspeople were shocked by the $50,000 price tag, the system worked as promised when it was completed in 1829.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; During his forty six years in Lynchburg, Jehu Williams also contributed a great deal to the civic life there. He was an ardent Methodist and a member of Court Street Methodist Church. He was president of Lynchburg Savings and helped organize the Lynchburg Hose Company ("Lynchburg and it People," William Asbury Christian, 1900). Jehu was a supporter of the Lynchburg Music Society. And both he and John Victor were members of the Lynchburg Colonization Society in the 1830s. This organization, which had branches throughout the South, proposed sending freed slaves to Liberia as a humane alternative to the unlikelihood of them ever being successfully integrated into white society. This plan, futile though it proved to be, was looked on approvingly by many in the years before the Civil War, including Abraham Lincoln.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Inevitably, the colonization plan proved futile for Jehu Williams personally. In 1850 he owned six slaves, presumably most of whom were servants at his fine brick house at 616 Church Street. The Williams family were accustomed to having household servants and employed them through the generations. After the Civil War Jehu's son James normally had at least four at his home at 822 Federal Street, including&nbsp;<a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-brief-story-of-ellen.html">Ellen Upshur</a>, an eleven year old girl whom James purchased from his mother in law <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/09/slavery-war-and-nancy-row.html">Nancy Estes Row</a> in 1857 and who remained with the Williams family for many years after Emancipation.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jehu Williams continued to ply his trade after the death of his friend and business partner John Victor in 1845. He would one day change the name of his business (located at 8th and Main Streets) to J. Williams &amp; Son when his youngest son, Jehu, Jr. (1834-1906) became old enough to assume some responsibility. With the exception of the time he spent in the Confederate army during the Civil War, the never married younger Jehu Williams worked all his life as a merchant in various enterprises in Lynchburg, and lived for a time at his father's old house on Church Street.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KXYNoPb-ZDo/U6xnvcZ829I/AAAAAAAAnxc/_DfQPfq-QWY/s1600/jehujr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KXYNoPb-ZDo/U6xnvcZ829I/AAAAAAAAnxc/_DfQPfq-QWY/s1600/jehujr.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jehu Williams, Jr.&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jehu Williams's second wife Susannah died at the age of forty one on October 7, 1843 "after an illness of only a few hours." Though he would father no more children, the ever vigorous Jehu -at age 59 - married his third wife, Elizabeth J. Robinson, on August 2, 1847.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Vigorous he may have been, but Jehu Williams was not immortal. His obituary, kept in his family Bible, tells us that: "For a large portion of his life he was permitted to enjoy almost uninterrupted health, but for the last two or three years his naturally strong constitution had been gradually yielding to the hand of disease and for the last six months he had been the subject of the most intense suffering, which he bore with calmest Christian fortitude and resignation.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The most untiring and devoted attention of his children and the skill of his attentive physicians could not for a moment arrest the progress of his disease, which continued to invade his system until Thursday evening the 31st day of March [1859] at a quarter past eleven o'clock, death came and terminated his earthly suffering."<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jehu Williams lies in Spring Hill Cemetery near Hettie. (Photo by Darrell Landrum)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nI-nFCkuWgo/U6xpyorx1yI/AAAAAAAAnxo/f36O_EvpSqg/s1600/Jehu+Williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nI-nFCkuWgo/U6xpyorx1yI/AAAAAAAAnxo/f36O_EvpSqg/s1600/Jehu+Williams.jpg" height="320" width="198" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jehu Williams</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/06/jehu-williams.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-6584773852970134123Tue, 17 Jun 2014 20:26:00 +00002014-06-19T09:23:44.833-04:00The Taking of Jacob Lyman Greene<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EL9xIG8Js18/U6CeXghbE3I/AAAAAAAAnuY/xhMXGneg45w/s1600/jacoblymangreene.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EL9xIG8Js18/U6CeXghbE3I/AAAAAAAAnuY/xhMXGneg45w/s1600/jacoblymangreene.JPG" height="320" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob Lyman Greene</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Two years ago I wrote a detailed analysis of <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-letter-from-maria-dobyns.html">the letter written by Maria Dobyns</a> of Oakley plantation in Spotsylvania. Written on June 17, 1864 to my great grand aunt <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/nannie-row-part-1.html">Nannie Row</a>, Maria's letter describes the fighting, suffering and chaos that occurred at Oakley during the battle of the Wilderness. She also mentioned the fact that Nannie's brother, George Washington Estes Row of the 6th Virginia Cavalry, had given her the pocket watch and pen knife of Custer's adjutant.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not being a Civil War historian as such, I did not know who would have been Custer's adjutant at&nbsp; the time. However, lately I have been reading Thom Hatch's book on George Armstrong Custer, <i>Glorious War</i>, and at long last I believe I have identified the man from whom my great grandfather obtained his trophies.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JEY0d6HtY6I/U6ChXPFw31I/AAAAAAAAnuk/euluQ6ZcAq0/s1600/gwer_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JEY0d6HtY6I/U6ChXPFw31I/AAAAAAAAnuk/euluQ6ZcAq0/s1600/gwer_edited-1.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Washington Estes Row, right</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jacob Lyman Greene, who was also a personal friend of Custer,&nbsp; was captured at Trevelian Station in Louisa County on June 11, 1864. He was stripped of all his personal belongings, including his flute and spurs (as well as the items taken by Private Row).&nbsp; Greene was taken to Libby Prison first, and from there spent time as a guest of the Confederacy at several prisons until he was paroled in December 1864.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the Civil War Greene served with Custer in Texas. In 1878 he became president of the Connecticut Mutual Insurance Company.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An excellent biography of Jacob Lyman Greene by Charles Raymond Howard can be read at <a href="http://www.performance-vision.com/howard-docs/tran-jlg-biography.htm#va">Uncle Jacob's Civil War</a>.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-taking-of-jacob-lyman-greene.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-8654749402094636239Sun, 25 May 2014 17:38:00 +00002014-05-26T06:45:07.236-04:00Wilcox & Kinsey<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-idhPOd5ty00/U4IfWI6NkpI/AAAAAAAAnso/Gvl4mXZGtSQ/s1600/img512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-idhPOd5ty00/U4IfWI6NkpI/AAAAAAAAnso/Gvl4mXZGtSQ/s1600/img512.jpg" height="181" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilcox &amp; Kinsey, 1870s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sometimes something as simple as a business card piques my interest and spurs me to dig a little deeper to see what, if anything, I can learn about persons who are otherwise unknown to me. Among the papers of George Washington Estes Row was today's featured item. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GWE Row operated&nbsp;<a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-saw-mills-of-george-we-row.html">a large saw mill</a> in Spotsylvania near Todd's Tavern until his untimely death in 1883. It is possible that Row may have supplied lumber to Wilcox &amp; Kinsey, although their names do not appear within his ledgers or among his cancelled checks. Still, he kept this card so I do not rule out a possible business connection.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Albert Gallatin Wilcox and his family came to Spotsylvania from New York about 1870. He was a "manufacturer of spokes," according to the 1870 census. That same census shows that his neighbor was a fellow New Yorker, Allen Hakes, also a manufacturer of spokes. In 1873 Wilcox was appointed postmaster at Spotsylvania Court House. The Wilcox family did not settle permanently in Spotsylvania, and by the 1880s were living in Hillsborough, Florida, where Albert Wilcox died in 1894.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wilcox's partner in this enterprise was Edward Wood Kinsey, born in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1842. Kinsey served in Company A of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry during the Civil War. Like Albert Wilcox, Kinsey moved to Spotsylvania by 1870 and worked for a number of years in Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg as a merchant and grocer. His first wife died in 1883 and he married Henrietta Hall in 1885. That same year he ran afoul of the law by espousing his political views in public without proper clearance from the town fathers. From the Free Lance, dated 15 September 1885:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8X9E50Adjb0/U4InNG0-09I/AAAAAAAAns4/5dV-plH1IiQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-05-25+at+1.19.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8X9E50Adjb0/U4InNG0-09I/AAAAAAAAns4/5dV-plH1IiQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-05-25+at+1.19.47+PM.png" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr. Kinsey divorced wife number two at some point and married Agnes Jennett Morrison Eastburn in Washington, D.C. in 1902. There he made his home for much of the rest of his life. The index to the historical Fredericksburg newspapers shows that in 1924 his grandson Edward Walter Kinsey was selling used cars there.&nbsp; From selling wagon spokes to automobiles, the business life of the Kinseys seemed to have come full circle.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Edward Wood Kinsey is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kinsey's son, Fredericksburg auctioneer Nathaniel Bacon Kinsey, was a witness to the will of GWE Row's son, Horace Row (my grandfather) in 1927.<br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/05/wilcox-kinsey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-9153438163169730412Mon, 28 Apr 2014 20:56:00 +00002014-04-28T16:58:42.276-04:00Ancestors at the Museum<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AHEUBwrLESs/U168RDokALI/AAAAAAAAnsY/Sx8LOSSxyLg/s1600/20140428_123630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AHEUBwrLESs/U168RDokALI/AAAAAAAAnsY/Sx8LOSSxyLg/s1600/20140428_123630.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of John Cummings</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Recently Terry Dougherty, director of the Spotsylvania Museum, and museum specialist Liz M. Clayton produced a multi-panel display commemorating the 150th anniversary of the battle of the Wilderness. Included in their presentation is one panel devoted to my ancestors [please click on this image for enhanced viewing].<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Long time readers of Spotsylvania Memory know that I have been an earnest advocate for telling the story of my ancestors, who arrived in Virginia from England in 1621, and describing their place in state and local history. My family is no more or less special than that of anyone else. But because their experience is so well documented, their lives can in many respects be viewed as emblematic of their time and place.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/04/ancestors-at-museum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-3279105399027464883Wed, 16 Apr 2014 22:44:00 +00002014-04-16T20:36:53.808-04:00"I would charge hell itself"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h4LpJV2ThOU/U08CrR9-SJI/AAAAAAAAnsA/yAvlxXZr6Tw/s1600/fig50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h4LpJV2ThOU/U08CrR9-SJI/AAAAAAAAnsA/yAvlxXZr6Tw/s1600/fig50.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">General John Gregg</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One of the most emotionally charged moments of the Civil War occurred on Widow Tapp's farm on Orange Plank Road during the battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. Unwisely waiting for the expected arrival of Longstreet's troops, A.P. Hill's soldiers were poorly prepared for the onslaught of the Union forces. The Rebels were thrown into confusion and at just the most crucial moment the Texas Brigade of Longstreet's corps, commanded by former Texas district judge John Gregg, arrived on the scene.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What occurred next was recorded by Private Robert Campbell of the 5th Texas Infantry:<br /><br /><i>..."Attention Texas Brigade" was rung upon the morning air, by Gen. Gregg, "the eyes of General Lee are upon you, forward, march." Scarce had we moved a step</i>, when <i>Gen. Lee, in front of the whole command, raised himself in his stirrups, uncovered his grey hairs, and with an earnest, yet anxious voice, exclaimed above the din and confusion of the hour, "Texans always move them."</i><br /><i>...never before in my lifetime or since, did I ever witness such a scene as was enacted when Lee pronounced these words, with the appealing look that he gave. A yell rent the air that must have been heard for miles around, and but few eyes in that old brigade of veterans and heroes of many a bloody field was undimmed by honest, heart-felt tears. Leonard Gee, a courier to Gen. Gregg, and riding&nbsp; by my side, with tears coursing down his cheeks and yells issuing from his throat exclaimed, "I would charge hell itself for that old man." </i>http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-would-charge-hell-itself.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-4555237215363261935Mon, 07 Apr 2014 13:36:00 +00002014-04-07T10:15:35.849-04:00Corporal William White and the Wrong Man<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-opTDX15mMog/U0KTKgtCJAI/AAAAAAAAnpI/352uVD-cDmM/s1600/img219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">, <img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-opTDX15mMog/U0KTKgtCJAI/AAAAAAAAnpI/352uVD-cDmM/s1600/img219.jpg" height="299" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Spotsylvania County, 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Today's tale comes from the superb Civil War diary of artillerist William S. White, which is included in <i>Contributions to a History of the Third Richmond Howitzer Battalion</i>, published by Carlton McCarthy &amp; Co. in 1883. I heartily recommend to the history enthusiasts out there that they read his diary in its entirety. White fought in twenty one battles, from Bethel Church to Appomattox. His detailed descriptions of those engagements, his depiction of camp life and the articulate manner in which he shares his views make this journal a compelling read. It can be found online <a href="https://archive.org/details/contributionstoh00conf">here</a>; White's diary begins on page 84. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We will be looking at a three month period of White's experience, which occurred December 1862 to February 1863. Corporal White was assigned by the provost marshal to take charge of the case of fellow soldier John Edwards of Spotsylvania, who had been convicted of desertion in the face of the enemy and was sentenced to be "shot to death by musketry."<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NDPSjtciBbI/U0KWq73-WfI/AAAAAAAAnpU/T0lOOqSsVuw/s1600/Page+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NDPSjtciBbI/U0KWq73-WfI/AAAAAAAAnpU/T0lOOqSsVuw/s1600/Page+6.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Verdict and sentencing of John Edwards</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Corporal White's efforts on Edwards' behalf obliged him to travel on horseback in deep snow through western Spotsylvania, among other places. In the course of his travels he had occasion to spend two nights at Greenfield, the plantation of my great great grandmother, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/09/slavery-war-and-nancy-row.html">Nancy Estes Row</a>, the only person he knew in Spotsylvania. In the group portrait below, Nancy Row is seated at left next to her daughter <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/martha-row-williams.html">Martha Row Williams</a>. Standing behind them are Nancy's daughters <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/06/bettie-row-rawlings.html">Bettie Row Rawlings</a> and <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/nannie-row-part-1.html">Nannie Row</a>.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j6zzEg77L9Y/U0KZJqJUNtI/AAAAAAAAnpg/JvFCJ0wa2J8/s1600/rows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j6zzEg77L9Y/U0KZJqJUNtI/AAAAAAAAnpg/JvFCJ0wa2J8/s1600/rows.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nancy Estes Row and her daughters, c. 1870</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; William S. White was born in Richmond in 1840, a son of Phillip Barrett White, a merchant in that city. The senior White was raised in Hanover County and was buried at his family's ancestral home there after his death in August 1851. Eleven year old William was then sent to Lexington, Virginia to live with his uncle, Reverend William Spottswood White, pastor of Lexington Presbyterian Church. (After the Civil War Reverend White retired from the ministry and became principal of the Ann Smith Academy, a school for girls attended by my great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Houston).&nbsp; Young William White's Sunday school teacher was future Confederate general Daniel Harvey Hill, in whose division White served during the Civil War. Hill was an instructor at Washington College 1849-1854.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In January 1854 White was one of the witnesses to the fatal stabbing of VMI cadet Thomas Blackburn by Washington College law student Charles Burks Christian. The slaying took place across the street from Reverend White's church. This sensational event and the trial that followed are the subjects of the excellent book by my friend Dan Morrow, <i>Murder in Lexington</i>, available from History Press. In October 1862, as fate would have it, Corporal White and his company camped in Clarke County, Virginia on the farm of Dr. Richard Scott Blackburn, the father of the slain cadet.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Although stricken with illness several times during the war, White was fortunate to avoid being wounded or captured. In 1862, during the battle of Ellerson's mill, White found himself at his family's estate in Hanover County and fought for three hours within a few yards of his father's grave.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John Edwards, for whose survival Corporal White worked so hard, was a laborer in Spotsylvania as shown on the 1860 census. He was by no means young - he was in his mid fifties - and was described by the provost marshal (to aid in his capture, no doubt) as five feet five inches with a dark complexion, blue eyes and sandy hair. In the map detail presented above, Edwards (whose name does not appear on the map) would have lived north of Todd's Tavern between Catharpin Road and the unfinished railroad.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some of the other individuals who appear in White's narrative are:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -"Mrs. Rowe," my great great grandmother Nancy Estes Row. White knew her thanks to his friendship with Nancy's daughter Martha and her husband <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/05/james-t-williams.html">James Tompkins Williams</a>, who lived in Richmond 1851-1867. James T. Williams was a partner in the firm of Tardy &amp; Williams, auctioneers and wholesale grocers. Nancy's home, Greenfield, is seen in the lower center of the map as "Mrs. Rowe."<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; -William A. Stephens and Joseph Trigg, neighbors of Nancy Estes Row. Their farms are shown on the map north of the Row place, adjacent to the unfinished railroad.<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; -Leroy Wonderful Dobyns (yes, that was his real name) was the owner of Oakley, the farm immediately south of Greenfield. His home was the scene of chaos and violence during the battle of the Wilderness, as described in a <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-letter-from-maria-dobyns.html">well known letter</a> by his daughter Maria.<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -Robert C. Dabney, Spotsylvania clerk of court. During the war he buried the county's records, thereby saving them from being destroyed by rampaging Federal troops.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -William Stone Barton was an attorney and ardent secessionist in Fredericksburg before the war. He served as a major in the 30th Virginia Infantry before becoming judge advocate of the Confederate army. After the war Barton was judge of the 10th Circuit (where he heard a number of cases relating to my family) and Assistant Court of Appeals.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I cannot improve upon the quality of William S. White's prose, so I will allow him to tell his tale in his own words:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V6SYfJlrtZg/U0Kijm4_oBI/AAAAAAAAnpw/fAFst_5a0eg/s1600/Dec+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V6SYfJlrtZg/U0Kijm4_oBI/AAAAAAAAnpw/fAFst_5a0eg/s1600/Dec+8.png" height="128" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Jan 31<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6DXS-3fmGiA/U0KjWNeTYaI/AAAAAAAAnqI/zj8okZVmQGU/s1600/Jan+31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6DXS-3fmGiA/U0KjWNeTYaI/AAAAAAAAnqI/zj8okZVmQGU/s1600/Jan+31.png" height="93" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dyvGgQ_DhbY/U0Ki0J_lvRI/AAAAAAAAnp4/HhVU9UBdp50/s1600/Feb6-8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dyvGgQ_DhbY/U0Ki0J_lvRI/AAAAAAAAnp4/HhVU9UBdp50/s1600/Feb6-8.png" height="320" width="269" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Xpq2zUN8f0/U0KjEj9KpPI/AAAAAAAAnqA/lhHIRzhKiHc/s1600/Feb+9+start.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Xpq2zUN8f0/U0KjEj9KpPI/AAAAAAAAnqA/lhHIRzhKiHc/s1600/Feb+9+start.png" height="73" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XmWgh5GHHZE/U0KkbI0M0kI/AAAAAAAAnqg/EZbBhV-SrwI/s1600/Feb+10+cont.png" height="320" width="258" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7XAaBNUTovo/U0KkqCMrO1I/AAAAAAAAnqo/WDk4pWOmuwc/s1600/Feb+10+contd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7XAaBNUTovo/U0KkqCMrO1I/AAAAAAAAnqo/WDk4pWOmuwc/s1600/Feb+10+contd.png" height="119" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nbuGx436sz0/U0Kk4Yi0WDI/AAAAAAAAnqw/simLS8JV2vI/s1600/Feb+10end,+11+start.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nbuGx436sz0/U0Kk4Yi0WDI/AAAAAAAAnqw/simLS8JV2vI/s1600/Feb+10end,+11+start.png" height="320" width="241" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNNQB3GY45g/U0KlXAkan-I/AAAAAAAAnrI/liuhpIYAxfs/s1600/Feb+14+end,+15+start.png" height="138" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fu-gA6q-1Pg/U0KlnYsGhXI/AAAAAAAAnrQ/8lRNhtQH1VI/s1600/Feb+15+end,+16,+17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fu-gA6q-1Pg/U0KlnYsGhXI/AAAAAAAAnrQ/8lRNhtQH1VI/s1600/Feb+15+end,+16,+17.png" height="320" width="270" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KzKGqidEV3I/U0Klu6HsoqI/AAAAAAAAnrY/sqYPO_BkXH4/s1600/Feb+19.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KzKGqidEV3I/U0Klu6HsoqI/AAAAAAAAnrY/sqYPO_BkXH4/s1600/Feb+19.png" height="138" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GJvJaedrftI/U0Kl33mCngI/AAAAAAAAnrg/4aOf6Hok2Yw/s1600/Feb+20,+21.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GJvJaedrftI/U0Kl33mCngI/AAAAAAAAnrg/4aOf6Hok2Yw/s1600/Feb+20,+21.png" height="314" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GIA-K1c_JpA/U0KmBpYVDXI/AAAAAAAAnro/hRb8rWMGZrM/s1600/Feb+22,+23,+24+start.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GIA-K1c_JpA/U0KmBpYVDXI/AAAAAAAAnro/hRb8rWMGZrM/s1600/Feb+22,+23,+24+start.png" height="220" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gqg014vPhTE/U0KmKHsEcVI/AAAAAAAAnrw/WnvF3NVXHxk/s1600/Feb+24+end,+25,+26.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gqg014vPhTE/U0KmKHsEcVI/AAAAAAAAnrw/WnvF3NVXHxk/s1600/Feb+24+end,+25,+26.png" height="320" width="275" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The John Edwards that Major Barton knew was John B. Edwards, a musician in Company A, 30th Virginia Infantry. <i>This</i> John Edwards did indeed serve in the Mexican War.<br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/04/corporal-william-white-and-wrong-man.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-1042620944640286890Tue, 18 Mar 2014 21:59:00 +00002014-04-03T16:41:42.658-04:00Greenfield and the Battle of the Wilderness<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yHF18_XbiVc/Uyijl5K_HfI/AAAAAAAAnnM/yLx0QavCrFw/s1600/rows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yHF18_XbiVc/Uyijl5K_HfI/AAAAAAAAnnM/yLx0QavCrFw/s1600/rows.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nancy Estes Row and her daughters. Lynchburg, about 1870.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Although my ancestors would have likely disagreed with me, the Rows of Greenfield plantation may have been among the most fortunate of western Spotsylvania's inhabitants during the spring of 1864. During the battle of the Wilderness and the Overland Campaign that followed, many of their neighbors suffered from hunger, terror, privation, imprisonment and a permanent diminution of their financial security. By a happy confluence of circumstance and geography, the Rows managed to avoid the most serious of these consequences of the Civil War on the civilian population.&nbsp; [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; A daughter of Richard Estes and Catherine Carlton, Nancy Estes Row lived at Greenfield virtually her entire life. In the photograph above she is shown wearing a mob cap and sitting next to her oldest daughter Martha Row Williams. During the war Martha lived in Richmond with her husband James Tompkins Williams, a partner in the wholesale grocery and auction house of Tardy &amp; Williams. Standing behind Nancy and Martha are Bettie Row Rawlings and Nan Row (known affectionately to the family as Nannie, she remained unmarried all her life).<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dfzKX-ZbkP4/Uyim-NlEx8I/AAAAAAAAnnY/XcWwMQxOgxE/s1600/Page+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dfzKX-ZbkP4/Uyim-NlEx8I/AAAAAAAAnnY/XcWwMQxOgxE/s1600/Page+2.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Spotsylvania, 1863</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/10/greenfield.html">Greenfield</a>, a sprawling 889 acre farm, extended northwest from Brock Road towards Orange Plank Road. In the detail of the wartime map shown above, Greenfield can be seen in the middle of the image where "Mrs. Rowe" is indicated. That portion of Greenfield which included the family home, the slave cabins and other dependencies (site of the present day subdivision of Fawn Lake) was situated far enough from Orange Plank Road and Brock Road so that it was not the focus of the most intense fighting which occurred during the battles of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl5TdiNDVJ8/UyiobWCBDbI/AAAAAAAAnnk/7jTXiGyndvw/s1600/greenfield+sketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl5TdiNDVJ8/UyiobWCBDbI/AAAAAAAAnnk/7jTXiGyndvw/s1600/greenfield+sketch.jpg" height="320" width="221" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch of Greenfield by Roger Mansfield</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b-lge_uCer0/UyionRey7eI/AAAAAAAAnns/n0P691BDHIs/s1600/mansfield+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b-lge_uCer0/UyionRey7eI/AAAAAAAAnns/n0P691BDHIs/s1600/mansfield+map.jpg" height="320" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Greenfield area by Roger Mansfield</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On May 2, 1863 Stonewall Jackson led his Second Corps on a circuitous march which culminated in the successful ambush of the Union Army's exposed right flank near Wilderness Church. A portion of this march was made on a narrow farm road that began on Brock Road near Todd's Tavern and meandered to the north until it came out on Brock Road once again near its intersection near Orange Plank Road. A section of this farm road, known today as Jackson Trail West, traversed the Row farm. In 1936 my grandfather donated to the National Park Service the section of that road that had once been part of old Greenfield.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnCZslrhe1Q/UyiqF9IGQrI/AAAAAAAAnn4/wHCLtKGBeIw/s1600/bettie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnCZslrhe1Q/UyiqF9IGQrI/AAAAAAAAnn4/wHCLtKGBeIw/s1600/bettie.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bettie Row Rawlings</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/06/bettie-row-rawlings.html">Bettie</a>, the youngest daughter of Nancy Estes Row, married neighbor Zachary Herndon Rawlings in a ceremony at Greenfield in November 1860 conducted by Zachary's uncle Reverend Herndon Frazer. Zachary was one of five children born to Ann Cason and James Boswell Rawlings&nbsp; of Green Hill near Shady Grove Church, seen at the lower center of the Spotsylvania map above and indicated as "Rawlings." James B. Rawlings, a large powerful man, was a farmer, slave owner, justice of the peace, miller, gold miner and a gambler whose intemperate habits caused occasional difficulties with the law.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oapr2AJB_I4/UyitLHnvOVI/AAAAAAAAnoE/XMKsd3HchJo/s1600/bc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oapr2AJB_I4/UyitLHnvOVI/AAAAAAAAnoE/XMKsd3HchJo/s1600/bc2.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Benjamin Cason Rawlings</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After the election of Abraham Lincoln, talk of secession and war dominated the news and the thoughts of millions of Americans. This historic tumult made a special impression upon young Benjamin Rawlings, the second son of James B. Rawlings. During Christmas 1860 Ben, still two weeks shy of his sixteenth birthday, secretly absconded from his parents' home and made his way by rail and on foot to Charleston in order to be at the center of the southern rebellion. There he joined Maxcy Gregg's regiment of South Carolina Volunteers, thereby becoming <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/08/first-virginian-for-confederacy.html">the first Virginian</a> to join the Confederate Army.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Soon after Virginia's secession, Maxcy Gregg's regiment came to Virginia to aid in the defense of Richmond, the Confederacy's new capital. At the urging of his father, Ben transferred to a unit nearer home, Company D of the Thirtieth Virginia Infantry. Ben's brother Zachary enlisted in Company A of the same regiment.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The following year Ben and Zachary fought at the battle of Antietam where Zachary was wounded, thus ending his career as a soldier. After his convalescence Zachary Rawlings helped both his parents and Nancy and Nan Row and he also provided livestock and fodder to the Confederate Army. In the meantime, most of the slaves belonging to Nancy Estes Row escaped to freedom, leaving only a small handful of servants who faithfully remained behind.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tpToM6rfCfI/Uyiv8-TTWWI/AAAAAAAAnoQ/FCYbp5iV1-c/s1600/bcrletter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tpToM6rfCfI/Uyiv8-TTWWI/AAAAAAAAnoQ/FCYbp5iV1-c/s1600/bcrletter.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letter of Ben Rawlings, 1 March 1864</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In late November 1863 eighteen year old Benjamin Rawlings, now captain of Company D, was captured by Union forces which had surrounded his parents' house. So began Ben's dreary eleven month <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/08/yankee-hospitality.html">incarceration in a series of Federal prisons.</a> By late winter of 1864 Captain Rawlings was confined at Point Lookout, Maryland, where he wrote a letter to his mother on March 1. He asked her to send greenbacks and chewing tobacco, both of which could be exchanged for better food. He concluded his letter by issuing this stark warning to her and his father:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>You should be careful not to allow yourselves to become in contact with the yankee army on its next advance. Save what you can. Fall back with the negroes.</i><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; By the time Ann Rawlings received this letter, Generals Grant and Meade had already assembled a huge army just north of the Rapidan River. This blue host was poised to strike into northwestern Spotsylvania County in early spring 1864, as soon as the roads became passable. The Rawlingses of Green Hill and the Rows of Greenfield took heed of Ben's advice and laid plans to escape the inevitable onslaught.<br /><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </i>At some time before the Union juggernaut surged south in May 1864 the Row and Rawlings families prepared to leave and head south to the relative safety of southern Goochland County:<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Family valuables were buried, and the horses were hidden in the woods. The plantation mules were fastened in the corral. Federal troops attempted to capture these, but they became frightened and escaped. It was weeks before they were all rounded up and returned. The plantation was looted, but the residence was spared. </i>(From Roger Mansfield's history of Greenfield)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuWCi5Gggr8/Uyi0AvFr3EI/AAAAAAAAnoc/--utdYMVYCQ/s1600/Goochland+County.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuWCi5Gggr8/Uyi0AvFr3EI/AAAAAAAAnoc/--utdYMVYCQ/s1600/Goochland+County.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southern Goochland County</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By now the owners of Greenfield and Green Hill had fled to the tiny crossroads hamlet of Hadensville in Goochland (at the center of the image above), located on the Three Chopt Road, which ran from Richmond to the Shenandoah Valley (the road was so named for the distinctive notches cut into the trees when the trail was blazed in colonial times). Nancy and Nan Row, Bettie and Zachary Rawlings and their young daughter <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-splendid-woman.html">Estelle</a>, James Boswell and Ann Rawlings and their youngest son James (future merchant and postmaster in Fredericksburg), together with a small retinue of slaves, had loaded onto wagons and carts those possessions which they could take with them and trundled south to Hadensville. Here they would live as refugees for most of the remaining months of the Civil War.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Meanwhile, fighting raged near Greenfield as Confederate and Union troops fought for the intersection of Orange Plank and Brock Roads. Elements of Stuart's Horse Artillery fought at Greenfield:<br /><br /><i>Friday [May] 6</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Reveille early this A.M. Heard heavy firing on our left, indicating that a great struggle had commenced between Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. We were ordered up to the front. Filing left, took the Catharpin Road. Crossed the River Po. Filed to the left through the farm of Leroy Dobbins, then filed right again crossing the Po and through to Mrs. Rowe's farm. Here met with many of our wounded cavalry fighting against as great odds as yesterday.</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Our battery was soon in position and commenced firing on the enemy, their artillery returning the fire. We were too much annoyed by sharpshooters. Heavy firing on both sides was kept up till near midnight. Our ammunition giving out, we fell back to replenish which was quickly done. We, however, did not renew the fight. The enemy making no advance we parked for the night on the farm of Mrs. Rowe.</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Our casualties today were very severe. Killed, Parson W. Crouch. Wounded, Corporals John Cary and George W. McDonell. Privates James A. Musgrove, Samuel T. Preston, George Stump and Joseph H. Torrence. Also James A. Cobbs and Robert W. Irving, but so slightly they did not leave the field.&nbsp;</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; We also had many horses killed and wounded and among them my own, which was wounded in the face as I sat on him. A few inches to the right or left and I might have been severely wounded in the leg. I had rather a a singular experience in today's fight. While First or Orderly Sergeant I was always at the head of the battery and was foremost, generally, in all fights, but after receiving the appointment of Lieut. had charge of the caissons of ammunition which in battle were kept in the rear. Today was my first experience in the rear and having always been in front, had much curiosity to know how I would feel and what would be the results of my rear experience. The above shows the killing of one and the wounding of eight of my men at the caissons, the wounding of my horse and a minnie ball striking my clothes. While at the front no one was hurt.</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Our army in this day's contest was very successful.</i><br />[<i>"</i>Memoirs of the Stuart Horse Artillery: Moorman's and Hart's Batteries. Edited by Robert J. Trout. From the diary of Lewis Tune Nunnelee]<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gAg2spd3d4E/Uyi6Vr316MI/AAAAAAAAnos/BQPI87Ju98k/s1600/nan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gAg2spd3d4E/Uyi6Vr316MI/AAAAAAAAnos/BQPI87Ju98k/s1600/nan.jpg" height="320" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nan Row</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A month after the battle of the Wilderness, Maria Dobyns - a daughter of the Leroy Dobbins mentioned above - wrote a letter to Nan Row describing the chaos and terror that had occurred at Oakley, the farm adjacent to and south of&nbsp; Greenfield. Maria affirmed the wisdom of the Rows' decision to be absent from the violence:<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <i>A long, long time has elapsed since I heard from you, and no doubt you are anxious to hear from your friends in Spotsylvania. Many changes have taken place since you left us, and I really think you should feel that it was an interposition of Providence which caused you to leave when you did - for had you remained here no doubt you would be as most of us are now.</i><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-etw6xLnRd7s/Uyi7uU11CvI/AAAAAAAAno4/dJPJOo-QsKg/s1600/gwer_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-etw6xLnRd7s/Uyi7uU11CvI/AAAAAAAAno4/dJPJOo-QsKg/s1600/gwer_edited-1.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Washington Estes Row (right)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; </i>Still six weeks shy of his twenty first birthday at the time of the Wilderness fight, George Washington Estes Row - Nan's younger brother - was a private in the Sixth Virginia Cavalry. The Sixth was part of the brigade of General Lunsford Lomax<i> , </i>for whom George Row served as a courier. Since he left behind no diary of his wartime experiences, I have often pondered what his feelings were as he was called upon to fight - almost literally- in his own backyard. What is known, however, is that George captured a memorandum book from a trooper of the Fifth New York Cavalry, in which was described the opening phases of the battle of the Wilderness and the fighting that continued for several weeks thereafter. Moreover, in the same letter written to his sister Nan, Maria Dobyns remarked:<br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <i>George was here last Wednesday. He was looking very well. His brigade was then at Waller's Tavern. Miss Nanny, when you write or speak to him about religion he seems very much concerned indeed, and from his conversation I trust he is a converted boy. He gave me a pen knife he captured together with a watch from Gen. Custer's Adj. General.</i><br /><br />&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; For those of you who may be interested, I have written detailed accounts of well documented raids on four farms in Spotsylvania and Orange: <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-letter-from-maria-dobyns.html">Oakley</a><i>, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/12/hirelings-of-best-government-in-world.html">Walnut Grove</a>, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-will-do-no-act-hostile-to-union-of.html">The Oaks</a> and <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/11/incident-at-ellwood.html">Ellwood</a>.&nbsp;</i> <br /><i>&nbsp; </i>http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/03/greenfield-and-battle-of-wilderness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202425888944428735.post-4932465446436075041Fri, 10 Jan 2014 15:33:00 +00002014-02-04T10:17:03.075-05:00"You don't have to pack cotton in your bosom"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QRxUZnXjGUQ/Us_-D_c-7MI/AAAAAAAAnkg/a4aGBTS86qo/s1600/emma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QRxUZnXjGUQ/Us_-D_c-7MI/AAAAAAAAnkg/a4aGBTS86qo/s1600/emma.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma Farish</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In February 1876, about six weeks after his marriage to Lizzie Houston in Rockbridge County, George Washington Estes Row wrote a letter to his fifteen year old cousin Emma Farish. His letter displays a personal warmth and a wry sense of humor that is both endearing and modern in tone. [Please note that all images in my blog may be clicked on for enlarged viewing]<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgX3PIK_YXM/Us__TxNLPYI/AAAAAAAAnks/JVsAcSOQqkw/s1600/gwe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgX3PIK_YXM/Us__TxNLPYI/AAAAAAAAnks/JVsAcSOQqkw/s1600/gwe.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George W.E. Row, 1875</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Emma Farish was born in Caroline County in August 1860 to Charles Tod Farish and his third wife, Rachel Keeling Row. A first cousin of George Row, Rachel was born in 1819, the daughter of Carlton and Lucy Row, who were murdered by their slaves in 1820. Rachel was then raised both by her grandfather Thomas Row in Orange County and by her uncle Absalom Row at Greenfield. In 1859 she became the third wife of Charles Farish, whose farm lay in northwest Caroline near Moss Neck Manor and not far from another uncle of Rachel's, <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/05/rows-of-caroline-county-part-1.html">Keeling Row</a>. It so happens that Keeling also had a daughter named Rachel Keeling Row, who married a brother of Charles Farish, a fact which has proved to be a bit daunting for unwary genealogists. Charles died in 1863, leaving Rachel and Emma to rely on their own resources after his estate was settled.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Rachel Row Farish was well loved by her friends and relatives, as is apparent from the many mentions of her name in family letters and papers. She was admired for her abilities as a quilt maker and weaver, a craft she could practice at the log weaving house at Greenfield. At least one example of her handicraft survives. In later life Rachel worked as a house mother at the Bowling Green Female Seminary, where Emma graduated with honors, receiving the gold medal for French.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wjJaNt_mluc/UtADdxYJCZI/AAAAAAAAnk4/oYdhTjyff4g/s1600/letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wjJaNt_mluc/UtADdxYJCZI/AAAAAAAAnk4/oYdhTjyff4g/s1600/letter.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letter of George Row to Emma Farish, February 1876</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <i>Greenfield, Feb 1st 1876</i><br /><br /><i>Dear Em</i><br /><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Your two letters were rec'd, one from Ill. and the other some time before Xmas and I have not delayed writing because I did not want to hear from you but simply I am too lazy to write when I have time and I don't like to write much, you know. Well, to commence. Abbie </i>[1] <i>is shaking the table now and looking over my elbow. Cousin Nan</i><i> is teaching school at Cousin John's </i>[2]<i>. Abbie has been going to her but has been home ever since Xmas. Will return soon since he won't learn at home. I was married just before Xmas (I have forgotten what day but it don't make any difference I am married </i>[3]<i>) to Miss Lizzie Houston of Rockbridge Co. She lived six miles above your Uncle Zack's </i>[4]<i>. She is tall has dark hair and black eyes and wears pinback dresses -- (I suppose you and your Ma have lots of&nbsp; pinbacks) about 21 years old and a splendid woman. Abbie loves her dearly. You must come up and look for a better description. Well Billy Kent </i>[5]&nbsp; <i>is still single and so is Billy Trigg </i>[6] <i>and if you have finished your education and still desirous of forming a matrimonial alliance I think you cause their "hearts to palpitate, give up the ghost" etc.</i><br /><i>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; How comes on Cousin R </i>[7]<i>?. I suppose she is the spriest widow in town and cutting you out of the beaux. Well you must give back to her as she is the oldest and may not have as many chances as you. I heard Nellie Farish was to be married to a young Woolfolk. Hear it come off? No marriages in this county now. Mr. Lucius Estes </i>[8]<i> has bought Marvin's place and moved to it. They moved since Xmas. Tom Dick Pulliam was murdered up in Texas by Tom Sutherland a week or two ago. They were on a drunk. Sutherland has not been caught -- and if you see him catch him as the Governor has offered one hundred dollars reward. Give me half, won't you?</i><br /><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Abbie says give my love to Em and Rach &amp; tell them I have a calf. Quite a freak of nature for a boy to have a calf. Don't you think so? Em I suppose you are a grown lady ere this and don't have to pack cotton in your bosom and wearing dresses buttoned in front and pinback behind with a pile of rags on top and striped stockings and all <u>sich</u>. If this should <u>shock</u> <u>your</u> <u>duplicity</u> you must overlook as I think I am writing to a child yet. Give our kindest and best love to dear Cousin R and believe me as ever your</i><br /><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cousin George</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>N.B. All the neighbors are well.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zmyowv1ypdM/UtAKaJBuA7I/AAAAAAAAnlI/_RAOV7Y_5Fo/s1600/d66bc01b-6bc5-404f-b0ae-28d8de67e762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zmyowv1ypdM/UtAKaJBuA7I/AAAAAAAAnlI/_RAOV7Y_5Fo/s1600/d66bc01b-6bc5-404f-b0ae-28d8de67e762.jpg" height="320" width="277" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wedding announcement of Emma Farish</td></tr></tbody></table></i><br /><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</i><br /><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </i>Emma married a cousin, Keeling Herndon Sisson, in 1889. They settled in Richmond, where Keeling was employed by the merchandising firm of T.B. Murphy &amp; Company. Their son, also named Keeling, was born in July 1891. Rachel's husband died just three months later, apparently from the complications of diabetes.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vacdovqrNm4/UtALTN2HNGI/AAAAAAAAnlQ/37hvPrM7gBw/s1600/keeling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vacdovqrNm4/UtALTN2HNGI/AAAAAAAAnlQ/37hvPrM7gBw/s1600/keeling.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeling Herndon Sisson</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Emma lived in Richmond with her son, and later with him and his family, for the rest of her life. Emma died in 1940 and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.<br /><br />[Photos of Rachel and Keeling appear courtesy of Wesley Higgins]<br /><br /><br /><br />[1] <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/07/it-would-be-my-hearts-delight-to-do-it.html">Abbie Row</a> was George Row's son with his first wife, Annie Daniel (1848-1871). <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/07/abbie-rowe-white-house-photographer.html">Abbie's youngest son</a> served as official White House photographer for 25 years.<br /><br />[2] <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/07/john-sanders-row.html">John Sanders Row</a> of Orange County.<br /><br />[3] Of course, George is being coyly ironic here. <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2012/07/this-heart-is-still-true-to-thee.html">His epic courtship</a> of Mary Elizabeth Houston was the focus of his life for more than a year.<br /><br />[4] <a href="http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2011/06/zachary-herndon-rawlings.html">Zachary Herndon Rawlings</a> was married to George's sister Bettie.<br /><br />[5] Two years after this letter was written, 26 year old William Franklin Kent married Lottie Conley. A daughter of theirs, Fannie, married George Row's youngest son Horace. Horace and Fannie's youngest daughter was my mother.<br /><br />[6] John William Trigg, whose family's farm Poplar Neck lay next to Greenfield, married Alice Hart in 1885.<br /><br />[7] Emma's mother, Rachel Row Farish.<br /><br />[8] Lucius Estes farmed at Greenfield off and on for years. He was a devoted friend of the Rows. He, his wife and his adopted son Patrick were living in one of the log buildings at Greenfield when the just married George and Lizzie Row returned late from Rockbridge on December 14, 1875. Lizzie remembered that Patrick and Abbie were engaged in a whittling match at the main house at Greenfield, and George's sister Nan was sweeping the shavings from the hearth into the fire.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2014/01/you-dont-have-to-pack-cotton-in-your_10.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Pat Sullivan)0